I am ready to serve the people – Kirk DaSilva

Kirk DaSilva is ready to serve the people of Marriaqua.

“I have been putting in the work on the ground,” DaSilva told SEARCHLIGHT on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) Marriaqua constituency council chose DaSilva, an accountant, to represent the party in that area in the next General Elections.

DaSilva was chosen over public servant Phillip Jackson, pharmacist Curtis Bowman and former NDP parliamentarian Bernard Wyllie.

DaSilva received 15 votes, Wyllie got 8, Jackson, 4 and Bowman, 2.

Bowman contested the last two elections and lost both times to the Unity Labour Party’s (ULP) candidates; Girlyn Miguel in 2010 and St Clair Prince in 2015.

DaSilva believes his resounding success at the constituency council level is as a result of the hard work he has been doing in the community in which he grew up.

He said he has been speaking to persons extensively and he knows the issues.

DaSilva said his political philosophy is guided by the thinking that representatives must pay a lot of attention to the people in the constituency and work with them.

He said he knows what Marriaqua was before the ULP administration and he knows what it can become again with the right leadership.

DaSilva noted that the community has produced sportsmen and women, in cricket, soccer and netball, who have gone on to play at the highest levels, but right now, there is no proper cricket pitch in the constituency.

He said there is also no proper football and netball facility other than a half-lit court for netball in Richland Park.

“Feeder roads are also a big problem,” DaSilva said while noting that once given the chance, he will address these deficiencies and help bring Marriaqua back to its glory days.

“There is a million-dollar facility in La Croix that is being used for wet fetes,” DaSilva said while noting that agriculture needs to be properly organized in the constituency as that is what many persons live by.

DaSilva was once a supporter of the ULP and had thrown his hat in the ring to represent Marriaqua on a ULP ticket.

However, St Clair “Jimmy” Prince was chosen over DaSilva in 2015. Prince won the seat, defeating the NDP’s Curtis Bowman.

When asked about this, DaSilva said he did not like the way the ULP went about the process of selecting Prince to run. He believes the correct procedure was not followed and that Prince was handpicked, not selected by the constituency council.

DaSilva said he left the ULP because his intention and ambition is to serve the people as a representative and he would not have got that opportunity had he remained with the ULP.

“I want to serve the people by all means and I am ready to do that,” he said, while noting that he is community oriented having served as President of the Rotary Club St Vincent and President of the St Vincent Jaycees. He is also a board member of the School for Children with Special Needs and a devoted husband and father.

His educational background is extensive. He is a Chartered Accountant, a fellow of the Association of International Accountants (UK) and is also a fellow member of the Institute of Financial Accountants (UK). He completed studies in Fraud and Forensic Accounting and is a certified member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (USA).

DaSilva is also a member of the American College of Forensic Examiners International and a member of The Institute of Certified Forensic Accountants of Canada. He is a qualified banker, a member of the Institute of Canadian Bankers, and an Accredited Director certified with the Institute of Chartered Secretaries Canada.

The Pembroke resident holds diplomas in Financial Counseling, Investment Funds in Canada and a Certificate in International Auditing from the Association of the Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

When asked about a petition launched by an NDP supporter to have him replaced by civil servant Phillip Jackson, DaSilva said he is not worried about that as he thinks common sense and good judgement will prevail at the central executive level.

“I have been doing the work and the people recognized that. Even if you add up the votes of all the other persons who contested, I still have the most,” DaSilva said.

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