Douglas: Timothy Harris fooled me, fooled and failed the people of St Kitts and and Nevis
Basseterre, St Kitts – Former St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, The Right Hon Dr Denzil L Douglas on Tuesday admitted that his successor, Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, who was a member of his St Kitts-Nevis Labour Cabinet for 18 of its 20 years in government “fooled me, fooled and failed the people of St Kitts and Nevis.”
“Dr Harris and his (current) group of ministers (in the three-party coalition) have failed us. They have failed you the people of St Kitts and Nevis. They have not only failed us, they have fooled us as well,” said Dr Douglas, adding:”I must admit that Dr Harris fooled me.”
Dr Douglas responding to a caller during his weekly radio programme “Ask the Leader” on Kyss 102.5 FM), recalled that months after his St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) won the July 1995 general elections, as prime minister he gave his approval to allow Minister Harris to go to Canada to pursue his doctoral degree with full pay – ministers’ salary, constituency allowance, travelling allowance and telephone allowance – some Cabinet colleagues were opposed.
He recalled it was just on Tuesday that he was reminded of how generous he was Timothy Harris when the Cabinet was advising not to appoint Harris as a minister of government as he was still pursuing his studies.
Dr Douglas said in the absence of Dr Harris, he gave an assurance to his Cabinet colleagues that he personally will look after the constituency (St Christopher 7) and provide a very strong oversight of what was happening in the ministries which Harris held. Minister Harris spent over a year in Canada.
“I think I was wrong. I was fooled by Harris and I was fooled on several other occasions when a number of atrocities were in fact pointed out to me with his conduct as a minister. It was not only me alone that he fooled. He fooled even his own cabinet colleagues. He fooled (Ambassador) Sam Condor. He fooled Dwyer Astaphan. He fooled all those people who went with him against the (St Kitts-Nevis) Labour Party. He fooled his constituents and now he has fooled the whole country for the last five years,” said Dr Douglas.
“Are you going to allow him to fool you again. It is time for Harris to go. It is time for the NextGen SKNLP administration to emerge,” said Dr Douglas.
