BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - LEADER of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition the Hon. Mark Brantley has signalled his intentions of soon tabling a vote of No Confidence against the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas in the Federal Parliament.
His intention was promulgated via a press release issued by the Press Secretary of the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) of which Brantley is the Deputy Leader.
The release reads, "I have today under my hand submitted to the Speaker of the National Parliament of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Honourable Curtis Martin, a Motion of No Confidence in the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, and asked the Speaker to table this Motion for debate at the earliest possible opportunity and as a matter of urgency."
Speaking with SKNVibes about the intended move, Brantley explained that with the economic and other situations in which the Federation has found itself at the hands of Prime Minister Douglas, the Opposition is duty bound to express its discontentment and that of the people whom they represent.
"We feel that we are at our tipping point and we would not be conscientious servants of the people if we did not stand up and voice our disapproval and discontent in the forum that the people have sent us to, which is Parliament...We've asked that it be tabled at the next available opportunity and that notice has been to the Speaker and the Clerk of the Assembly."
In expressing some of the reasons for the Opposition's unanimous stance, Brantley, via the press release, explained that Dr. Douglas' stint at the helm of government has been riddled with difficulty, hardship and disrespect.
"It is no secret that our country has been besieged by unsupportable debt, a corrupt electoral system, crumbling infrastructure, burdensome taxes, crippling cost of living, an ever coarsening of our public and parliamentary debate and an increasing sense of hopelessness and despair among our people. The leadership of Dr. Denzil Douglas over the past 16 years has been marked by ever increasing hardship for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis and greater and greater disrespect by him for members of his own Cabinet, members of the Opposition, and citizens of this country.
"St. Kitts and Nevis is now more divided and divisive than ever with no effort being made by the Prime Minister to change his confrontational leadership style which has destroyed the socio-economic fabric of our once thriving Federation. Our Nation finds itself at its lowest ebb since Independence and the Opposition lays the state of our Nation squarely at the feet of the gross mismanagement and incompetence of our Prime Minister in handling the affairs of State."
Members of the Government Benches are also being encouraged to "support this critical measure as the first step in ushering in a new paradigm of transparent, accountable and consultative leadership for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis".
Brantley explained that while he hopes the motion would be tabled during the next sitting of Parliament, he has to wait for word from the Speaker of the House, as he is the one who controls the Assembly.
