The people of St. David’s have been singled out for harsh treatment by the ruling New National Party (NNP) government of Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell.

That’s the cry of the current Member of Parliament for the constituency, Denis Lett who is associated with the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“It is clear that the NNP Administration has abandoned the constituency since you took the courageous decision to elect the NDC candidate in the last elections”, said Lett in a statement issued to constituents..

Lett, a land surveyor by profession, also used the occasion to express grave concerns about the recent rise in the cost of living on the island. This, he said has a very negative impact on the daily lives of the poor and working people in the constituency.

He pointed to most of the crops being grown in the area being destroyed by the two recent hurricanes, Ivan and Emily. Lett accused the Mitchell government of not delivering much needed assistance “to our farmers”, adding that jobs are scarce and hard times “are staring us in the face”.

“My dear constituents, I understand your plight, and we are doing our best to put pressure on the government to take measures to ease the pain.

“In this regard our Political Leader - Hon. Tillman Thomas wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to reduce the price of cooking gas and kerosene.

“I want to assure you that a future NDC Administration will be your partner in development. Job creation will be a priority. After all, the right to a decent standard of living is a basic human right.

Lett won the seat in the 2003 general election when he defeated then Minister of Implementation, Joslyn Whiteman who is now the island’s Ambassador to Mainland China.

The ruling party is said to be looking for a replacement candidate for the constituency and a few names have been mentioned as hopefuls including the current Minister of Health, Senator Ann David-Antoine who is from the La Tante area of the constituency.

David-Antoine was badly beaten by NDC’s Glynis Roberts in the battle for the South St. George constituency in the last poll.