NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (September 29, 2023)- Premier of Nevis the Honourable Mark Brantley is admonishing the populace to guard against complacency as they enjoy the gains of those who sacrificed much to achieve an independent St. Kitts and Nevis. 

“We have been engaged in a remarkable experiment in governance, in nationhood and in progress. Has it been easy? Of course not. Have there been mistakes? Absolutely. Have we been forced to make sacrifices? Yes, but who among us could deny that in forty years this country has grown in leaps and bounds from whence we were,” he said during a Special Sitting of the Nevis Island Assembly to commemorate the 40^th Anniversary of St. Kitts and Nevis held on September 28, 2023.

“As we look forward to the next forty years and hopefully beyond… I want to sound a word of warning to all of our people that we do not take this island and this country for granted, that we do not take the gains that we have made for granted, that we do not assume that aura of entitlement that some of us seem to have adopted, that we recognize that only through continued effort and continued commitment to nation-building will we be able, forty years from now, to say that this island and this country continued to progress from strength to strength.”

According to the Premier, development is a continuum and it is important that each person making a contribution to nationhood and the development of St. Kitts and Nevis should be recognized and applauded.

“We have a country today because of the foundation laid by those who were brave, who were strong. And we ourselves have now an obligation to ensure that the next generation and the generation after that never forgets the sacrifices that were made so that we can enjoy the St. Kitts and Nevis we enjoy today.”

He continued, “But I warn against complacency because it is important in these next forty years that our people, the Nevisian people, the Kittitian people, that they recognize that they must rise up and take the controlling heights of every aspect and every facet of our development- our politics, our economy, our education system, our healthcare system- that it is for us to build our country and we cannot achieve that if our people are so laid back because life has become so easy.”

The Honourable Brantley, along with parliamentarians from the government and opposition benches in the Nevis Island Assembly, extended best wishes to the nation on the occasion of the recently celebrated 40^th Anniversary of Independence.