Our Money Should not be used to Prop-up Foreign Investors Says Central Basseterre Candidate +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Written by MiyVue Staff Writer Basseterre, St. Kitts, Sunday, 9th June, 2013, (MiyVue) – For 15 years the constituency of Central Basseterre in St. Kitts was represented in parliament by Dr. Kennedy Simmonds of the People’s Action Movement, (PAM). His tenure was the longest ever in the political history of the island, (1980-1995). Immediately before him, it was Robert Bradshaw, now a National Hero for the country, (the first), who served the people of the district. His term too lasted over a decade but shorter than that of Simmonds, who became the First Prime Minister, when he led the country into independence in 1983. Ever since the seat was lost in 1995 and again in 2000 when new comer Dwyer Astaphan of the Labour Party defeated Simmonds, PAM has shown much determination to regain control of this seat. Astaphan also went on to trounce Roy Flemming in 2004 and in 2010, another new comer, Marcella Liburd easily crushed Flemming. With another poll in the making anytime soon, PAM is therefore very much focused on re-taking Central Basseterre, as pledged months ago when their new candidate, Jonel Powell, was confirmed and announced as the man who would contest the seat whenever the elections are called. Powell has therefore been stepping up his rhetoric on the political platform as he launch constant attacks on the performance of the incumbent parliamentary representative and the government in general. In his latest challenge, Powell, who is the nephew of the founder of the People’s Action Movement, William Valentine “Billy” Herbert, chastised the government of Dr. Denzil Douglas for only taking care of foreign businesses, at the expense of local entrepreneurs who have been struggling to keep their doors open in this difficult economic climate. He was equally critical about the government’s attitude to job allocations. In a recent release from the party, Powell declared that he makes no apology for stating that “our people must always be considered first when it comes to investment incentives and employment in our Country”. Speaking last week on local radio, Powell stated that foreign workers should only be considered for jobs after our local people have been given the opportunity to fill the positions. “Our people must be considered first in any job position whether it is skilled or un-skilled jobs” he said. He singled out some of the Chinese establishments which he complained do not employ local people. “I have no problem with Chinese owned supermarkets if they come in to provide a service and employment to our people. But I do have a problem when I see Chinese workers even packing shelves,” stated the opposition politician. He argued that he can find at least a hundred people who would be happy to do that job.” He went on to explain that, “in these hard economic times, any job is better than no job in order to get money to pay bills and to feed one’s family”. He also claimed that with over 1200 hundred young people in the PEP programme, “no foreign owned company can, in my view, justify employment of un-skilled foreign workers, not with so many of our own people looking work!” “A definitive policy must be put in place that requires the majority of workers from unskilled to professional levels in any foreign owned business to be locals”. He went on to explain that neither he nor his PAM party had any objections to foreign Investors once they were coming to invest their own money and to create jobs for the locals but not utilizing monies that belong to our people from the sale of economic citizenships, monies from S.I.D.F. “Our monies are being used to prop up foreign investors rather than to encourage and assist our own local investors and hard-working business people. That cannot be good for our Country” said Powell during a public meeting last Thursday, at Westbourne Ghaut, in the heart of the constituency. miyvue/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13698:our-money-should-not-be-used-to-prop-up-foreign-investors-says-central-basseterre-candidate&catid=42:rokstories&Itemid=109
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:31:53 +0000
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