Monday 20th May, 2019-The Chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party, Hon. E.P Chet Greene, was a guest speaker at the annual conference of the St Kitts Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) held in Basseterre over the weekend.
Conveying greetings on behalf of Prime Minister, Hon. Gaston Browne, and the members of the ABLP, Greene spoke of the close ties that have existed between the two parties and the similarities in their developments for almost seventy years.
Greene recalled “A new Constitution in 1952 provided for the introduction of adult suffrage in St Kitts-Nevis. While in December 1951, a new Constitution provided for adult suffrage in Antigua and Barbuda. A Ministerial system of governance was introduced in St Kitts- Nevis in 1956, the same year as it did in Antigua and Barbuda. In 1967, St Kitts-Nevis became an associated state in associated with Britain; so too, did Antigua and Barbuda.”
He also drew references to the towering historical figures; Sir Vere Cornwall Bird of Antigua and Barbuda and Sir Llewellyn Bradshaw of St Kitts-Nevis and the roles both men played in breaking the grip of colonialism on their respective countries.
Speaking on present day developments, Greene, who holds the portfolio of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Trade, noted that the thrust of the Gaston Browne Administration is to place the youth of Antigua and Barbuda at the centre of the nation’s development. Interestingly, he noted that the SKNLP has declared that its focus will be placed on the next generation of citizens for that country.
