1. Letter to the Editor
Dear Sir
I visited St Kitts/Nevis on business recently and am concerned about the extent to which the entire
country is politicized. Everywhere I went every discussion invariably became political. Everyone I
spoke to, even my business contacts, eventually steered every conversation to the politics of St
Kitts/Nevis. A few people, knowing my connection to the recent elections in the United States where
my candidate and party won, asked me what I thought about the general elections that are due in your
country soon.
My first thoughts were that you have a beautiful country and that every citizen should strive to keep it
that way, not just for this generation, but for future generations. One of the issues with which I had
problems was the air and noise pollution in the city. I was in Basseterre right after some political
matter had been decided in the court and throughout the city there were people driving around loudly
blowing car horns. As I moved away from the main thoroughfare and the circus, the heavy odour of
stale chicken grease followed me wherever I went. I understand that the smell which assailed my
nostrils and sinuses comes from a KFC outlet which is owned by the Leader of the Opposition Party. It
is a disgrace that even so close to the seashore one cannot smell the fresh tang of the seabreeze and has
to suffer the discomfort of what must be month-old grease. The cost of the chicken also surprised me. I
had been in other countries on my trip, notably Antigua and Trinidad and the cost here is much higher
than corresponding items in the other countries. I thought that if someone aspiring to leading the
country owned the outlet, the prices would be competitive instead of monopolistic. If the gentleman
could take unfair advantage of poor people to the extent that his prices are higher than they should be,
one has to be very concerned about what he would do when he has the power and resources of the state
at his disposal. I shudder to think of the heavy odour of chicken in a massive, putrid cloud over the
Prime Minister’s Office, Residence and the Parliament itself. It is bad enough where it now hangs like
a dark and nauseous cloud polluting one of the most beautiful cities in the Caribbean.
However, I know that I should not let my personal prejudices as an environmentalist overwhelm me.
Although it is one of the reasons I strongly supported the Obama campaign, there was more to the
campaign than hollow phrases. Our “Time For Change” was full of substance and strategy not just
hollow rhetoric.
One of my business colleagues from St Kitts brought up the issue of the collapse of a major insurance
company which had over-extended itself and went out of business taking a lot of poor people down
with it. I understood from her that the second-in-command of the opposition party was intimately
connected in that company and while he seemed to have thrived in the aftermath of the bankruptcy, the
depositors and policy holders suffered severely. There should be a law against people profiting from

2. the misfortune of others and yet wanting to hold high office. Suppose such an individual became
Minister of Finance as is extremely likely all things considered. What do you think he would do when
he has access to the Treasury? Wouldn’t he bring in the same people who bankrupt the insurance
company as his advisors and aides? Would Obama have made or supported that change? No way.
There are a few other issues that I found quite interesting especially the magic number 15. What is
there about it that people see it as an end rather than just another number? I figure that in politics,
longevity can be an extremely useful attribute if your performance is good and if you represent the
right combination of experienced leadership and fresh ideas. It is extremely possible, as Americans
found out when they voted for George Bush, to jump from the frying pan into the fire.
I want to suggest to the people of St Kitts/Nevis that you think long and hard about the choices
confronting you. Ask the right questions of the parties like “What specifically are you going to do over
the next five years to improve the economy and to deal with the socio-economic issues facing us?” or
“What do you intend to change and how, at the same time can you tell me where the money is coming
from?”
You have a beautiful country. Don’t screw it up.