Premier Brantley announces deadline for PM Harris to achieve resolution or dissolution

St Kitts and Nevis: The ongoing political turmoil in Team Unity has taken a new turn after the Premier of Nevis and Leader of Concerned Citizens Movement- Mark Brantley, announced a deadline for Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris to bring a relevant solution. 

Premier Brantley issued the deadline in his nationwide address on Saturday evening, where he stated that the current disturbed political environment of St Kitts and Nevis poses a threat to the unity of the nation. 

While taking the unprecedented step of putting a deadline, Premier Brantley said that he and Deputy Prime Minister Shawn Richards had delivered a written communication to PM Harris, where they have given a deadline of Wednesday, April 20, 2022, to set out the position for a path forward. 

He emphasized, “We have taken the step of putting a deadline of Wednesday, April 20, 2022, for a response from the Prime Minister, barring which we can only conclude that he and his Team have no interest or desire to save this Team Unity government. Therefore, we shall know by Wednesday whether we can achieve resolution or face dissolution.”

Further, the leader of CCM explained that the disturbance within the Team Unity had been shown by the People’s Action Movement’s national convention on March 13, 2022, and the People’s Labour Party convention on March 26 2022. 

Emphasizing his commitment to people, Mark Brantley noted, “Let there be no doubt that if others within the Team Unity construct are unwilling or unable to compromise in the interest of our Nation’s stability, then the CCM and the people of Nevis shall not waver.”

Outlining the reason behind the political disturbance within the Team Unity, the leader of CCM stated that PM Harris never worked to resolve issues between PLP, PAM, and CCM. He said that Prime Minister never cared about various matters of concern, such as fulfilling the promises made to the people, concerns about allowing PLP operatives to attack sitting members of the cabinet and transparency openly among the cabinet. 

He said that PM Harris never made efforts to save Team Unity. 

Highlighting the purpose of the Team Unity, Premier Brantley affirmed that the Team Unity was designed to emphasize the Team and the oneness of purpose. It was designed to bring the people of St Kitts and Nevis together and end the decade-old tribalism and parochialism in the country, but unfortunately, the Team lost its path. 

Showing his regrets over Team Unity’s failure, he reiterated, “Alas, I regret to say that along the way, we lost our way; after years of efforts internally to resolve issues, the lack of commitment to finding a resolution has now created a public spectacle of which none of us can be proud,”.

While noting the significance the good leadership, he exclaimed that to achieve any of these lofty objectives, there was, is and will always be a need for leadership that is humble, visionary and inclusive. “I remind us all that there is no “I” in Team and no “me” in Unity”. 

Condemning PM Harris, Brantley said that Dr Timothy Harris is a trained accountant, so why he is requesting World Bank to manage the CBI shares between St Kitts and Nevis. 

He further quoted one of PM Harris’s statements and stated that he heard the address of the PM, where he intimated that the office of the Prime Minister should not be diminished. In his reply, he said, “I agree but will add that the principles of Team Unity which allowed him the privilege of being our prime minister should also not be diminished.”

Criticizing Prime Minister Brantley underscored that PM Harris could not and must not use the ladder of Team Unity to get to the top and then kick it down as being a mere construct for personal advancement and self-aggrandizement.