Fellow Citizens and residents,
A country’s constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents by which it is governed. In most democracies, like ours, constitutions provide limitation on state power, by establishing lines which a state's ruler cannot cross, such as fundamental rights and freedoms. The Constitution of St. Kitts and Nevis spells out in Chapter II some of these fundamental rights and freedoms including:
• The right to life
• The right to personal liberty
• Freedom of conscience
• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of assembly and association
• Freedom of movement, etc
In 2013 we celebrated 30 years of Independence in St. Kitts and Nevis. We celebrated those that sacrificed for our right to be free. We celebrated those that understood that free men, women and children have the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness. Free people have the right to prosper. They have a right to protest. They have a right to choose their leaders. They have the right to be educated and to be healthy. They have a right own land and to work the land to provide for their families. They have a right to live in a just society. They have a right to demand good governance from their leaders. And when those leaders stop serving the people and start serving themselves then the people have the right to remove those leaders at the earliest opportunity.
When a Prime Minister chooses to advance his personal agenda over the people’s agenda then the people have a right through their representatives to act. When the people have lost confidence in their Prime Minister and his administration then there is a mechanism in most constitutions for the people to demonstrate in a tangible way that they no longer deem the Prime Minister and his administration fit to govern. That instrument is a motion of no confidence and Section 52(6) of our constitution lays out clearly what steps are to be taken after a motion of no confidence is passed by the National Assembly. Section 41(1) says clearly who votes on a motion of no confidence and it says, “Save as otherwise provided in section 19(8), 37(6) or 38(2), any question proposed for decision in the National Assembly shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting: Provided that question of no confidence in the Government shall be determined by a majority of the votes of all the Representatives.” The term Representatives means the elected members of parliament.
On the 11th day of December 2012, four hudred and twenty-seven days ago today, a Notice of a Motion of No Confidence in the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis was duly and properly submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly by Opposition Leader, the Hon. Mark Brantley. Today, some four hudred and twenty-seven days later, that motion has not been heard.
What the illegitimate leader has done over the past four hudred and twenty-seven days is to usurp the democratic process which our forefathers bled and died for. He has done this by using appointed individuals, Senators, who do not represent anyone in the National Assembly. They were not elected by the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, they were selected by the rule-of-one-man dictatorship to assist in running an oppressive, illegitimate, minority administration.
Not only have the majority of the Representatives of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis said that they have no confidence in the Douglas regime, it is clear who the people have confidence in. That is Team Unity.
As long as the illegitimate leader refuses to hear the MONC, or call general elections he will continue to deny the people their prosperity agenda. This agenda will bring wealth to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis. It will have a jobs and economic turnaround plan. A plan to train our youthsfree of cost, from pre-school to high school. A plan to rebuild our tourism industry as a serious economic catalyst for St. Kitts and Nevis. A plan to take advantage of our renewable energy including solar, wind and geothermal. A plan to take agriculture to a new level of growth and development. A plan to bring down the cost of electricity, VAT and other taxes that are too burdensome to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis. A medical and research plan that will make St. Kitts and Nevis the medical research capital of the region. We will build on the leading edge research already going on right here, at the St. Kitts Biomedical Research Foundation and the Behavioral Science Foundation at Lower Bourryeau Estate, to address debilitating and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. A proper national security plan that keeps our people safe and secure and redeem us from being one of ten most homicidal countries in the world. A plan to bring our land back to ownership by the people and to make housing affordable for the vast majority of the poor and property less.
As long as the MONC is not heard and the people do not get a chance to elect a government of their choice, in free and fair elections, the people will not get the prosperity they want and which they deserve.
We are committed to work in Unity to achieve the full potential of our people and country. We are grateful that despite the threats of the desperate minority leader to “burn out” the people, neither the people nor their representatives and candidates are getting tired. Indeed the resolve of the people is growing stronger and stronger every day.
The struggle for freedom may be long, but with the people’s help and the grace of God victory is assured.
Let us stay strong, let us stay United because we are Better Together and Together for Better.
May God bless you and may God bless our beloved Country.
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