In response to a question posed to him by a caller to the Tuesday 30th November 2010 edition of his weekly radio programme, “Ask the PM”, Dr. Douglas indicated that his main challenge involved, “Satisfying the needs of our people by providing the appropriate services…”
He explained that this challenge was such that these services are costly and “I just don’t have enough resources to deliver them in the way I would want to deliver them.
“That has been the challenge, impacted by the vision of what our young people need in particular. The vision of our country in the next 10-15 years was hamstrung by the fact that I just don’t have the resources to deal with the delivery of all of the services that our people would want especially our young people, to make them grow up in this competitive and hostile world.”
Speaking specifically to the issue of crime and violence and the youth of the nation, Dr. Douglas expressed that he is aware of what resources are necessary “to bring crime and violence…which are distractions of our young people…under absolute control” but reiterated the difficulty of “just not being able to mobilise the human resources, not being able, it would appear, to just ensure that there is this firm determination to stamp out crime…
“Look at what happened two three weeks ago…working so hard to build up what is our tourist industry, really transitioning this economy from the old economy of sugar into services, led by hospitality and tourism; and BAM, in the midst of all of that, crime stalks our land and threatens the very survival of what is the new economy that we are creating. These are the challenges; the lack of resources, appropriate resources…(The resources that) are required to really transform our country (are) financial and human resources. And to me the greatest challenge really, is how to prepare our young people to be the leaders of tomorrow in every sphere of activity in St. Kitts and Nevis.”
Dr. Douglas, former Minister of National Security, indicated that the major struggle has been and continues to be, “How can I be certain that we are really doing the right thing in moulding the young minds so that they are not criminally bent in their intentions but would have the intentions of using the opportunities in a whole wide world of good and make a difference in their own lives and in our country, St. Kitts and Nevis.”