Why I am NOT voting for NRP
By Everton ‘Swagga’ Powell a.k.a Obi
Email: swagga@hotmail.com
There are three reasons why I cannot vote for NRP in the upcoming Nevis local elections.
- Their lack of support for the Nevis independence quest.
- Their lack of support for the Nevis independence quest.
- Their lack of support for the Nevis independence quest.
Yes I can see that quizzical look on your combined faces as you think, but those three are all the same reasons. Well I did it for emphasis to show how deeply slighted I felt by NRP’s actions. In spite of the many mishaps of the Nevis Island Administration I still undoubtedly place the single most blame directly at NRP’s proverbial feet for causing the referendum vote to fail in 1998 and pushing to scuttle the revitalization of the referendum pus h in 2003.
The evidence also shows that I am not the only one who feel this way as is evident by VON Radio’s Lets Talk program on Tuesday April 11th 2006 when the first Nevisian premier and first leader and founder of NRP, Dr Simeon Daniel stated clearly on the program that, “he himself place most of the blame on NRP for the failure of Nevis to gain independence”. They have sort to impede the process at every step of the way especially when they went out of their way to run their Town Hall meetings which was a calculated attempt to undermine the process even though they pretend otherwise.
T o me their so-called Town Hall education campaigns in 2003 which ONLY focused on spurious negative reasons why Nevis should not pursue independence, characterized the children fable ‘Chicken Little’ syndrome of a falling sky instead of a great opportunity to advance our beautiful island of Nevis.
Who can also forget NRP joining with the Concern Citizens Movement (CCM) to sign a communiqué in February 2003 to stop all participation in the federal elections and pursue the Nevis independence cause but immediately they turned around went against that very position by joining forces with PAM to call for an unrealistic constitutional reform pipe dream. Talk about flip flopping.
< p class=MsoNormal style=’line-height:150%’>This upcoming Nevis local election will mark another milestone in our history as a developing nation. Nevis the Queen of the Caribbean has come a mighty long way in just 23 years since it has gotten the chance to administer its own affairs with the establishment of the Nevis Island Administration in 1983. With this opportunity came growth under the NRP administration from 1980 to 1992 and even more remarkable exponential growth under CCM since 1992. That’s why CCM can clearly admonish every Nevisain, “Don’t Rock the boat, Protect what you have”.
1983 also offers us a unique opportunity to seek our full sovereignty through clause 113 in the constitution which allows for Nevis to seek full autonomy thr ough a referendum. I still flabbergasted as to why NRP would not want to achieve this grandiose state of sovereignty. The Nevis Reformation Party should always remember only sovereign states rather than artificial federations or international dependencies can attract foreign investment and enter the most important international institutions.
But because of political expediency the Nevis Reformation Party sought to frustrate and block the Nevisian quest for independence and this main factor (even though there are others) is why, in good conscience and because of my deep belief in independence for Nevis, I cannot cast a vote for NRP in this upcoming elections.
