Dr. Douglas was at the time addressing a congregation during a church service at the 150-year-old St. Thomas’ Anglican Church on Sunday 23rd January. The service was part of celebrations to mark the first year of its fourth consecutive term of office Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“We are, and must forever commit ourselves to being, between elections, one people, and one nation, with one destiny,” said Dr. Douglas, whose St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party won the January 25th 2010 General Elections.
He pointed out that since taking office as Prime Minister in July 1995, “persons of all political persuasions have been invited into, and become respected participants in the workings of our Government, and this shall always be the case in any Government that I may ever have the honour and privilege of leading – because I am keenly aware that it is only by incorporating the best minds; and the best skills; and the best intellectual, practical, and moral strengths that any government, anywhere, can ever hope to bring the nation it was entrusted to serve, to its full potential.”
“Here we stand about to begin the second year of this new term that God and the people have given to us. And, with the discord and hatreds that we see bursting forth in countries far, far away, and with very strange developments beginning to emerge in one of the countries in our region, we must give thanks not only for having won the election last year, but for living in a country in which the tradition of democracy is so firmly rooted,” said Prime Minister Douglas to the congregation which included Cabinet ministers, executive members and the rank and file of the governing St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party.
He said as the second year begins, his Government looks forward with a renewed spirit of commitment.
“I, of course, have my responsibilities as Prime Minister. My Cabinet Ministers have their respective responsibilities. You, in the congregation have your responsibilities as teachers, sanitation workers, farmers, home-makers, doctors, nurses, writers and athletes. However, those words only address the issues of what we do in our lines of work. But there is also the all-important matter of how we do what we do, and how we live: The degree of diligence, or carelessness, that we bring to the tasks that are before us. The extent to which we try to be instruments of peace as opposed to sowers of confusion. Whether we attempt to be a source of encouragement and affirmation for those with whom we have contact – at home, at work, or as we go about our daily lives. The question, as we said, is how we live
our lives,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
“And so as we face each new day of this term, let the feel, and thrust, and direction of our efforts serve the interest of this land that we love. Let them serve the best interests of each other. And most of all, let us remember, and be inspired by, the seriousness and the dedication with which our Founding Fathers approached the task of delivering to us the rights, and privileges, and opportunities that they knew that we all so richly deserved,” said Dr. Douglas.
The Prime Minister went on to say, “My Government has striven diligently to build upon and advance all that they so valiantly began. You, the people of St. Kitts and Nevis have distinguished yourselves as a responsible, mature, hard-working and positive people, with whom, and for whom, and through whom, a great deal of our achievements has been made possible. And for this, I thank you.
“With so much that is going wrong in the wider world, we must bring to the fore the best that is within us. And let us even as we strive, and sacrifice, and debate –yes, debate,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
He promised that in the years ahead, his Government will continue to expand and build upon the many policies and programmes that have been outlined in numerous fora, but which it would be inappropriate to list in this House of Worship.
“Let me simply re-iterate to you the keen awareness of my Government of what a sacred responsibility you have bestowed upon us, and the unshakeable commitment of my Government to apply all its strength, all its vision, and all its power to protect the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, and to ensure that this country forever remains a stable, progressive, and viable member of the world community of democratic nations,” said Prime Minister Douglas.