BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SPEAKER of the Federal Parliament in the previous administration, Curtis Martin has offered thanks to the people of the Federation for allowing him to serve in that capacity.
"Thank You St. Kitts & Nevis for the opportunity to serve you as the youngest elected Speaker of the National Assembly from 2008 to 2015,” Martin wrote in a post which appeared on his Facebook page since yesterday morning (Mar. 4)
He said the position came with its hardships but despite them all, he declared that he carries no regrets.
“Despite the rigor and challenges of the job; including being publicly & privately harassed, ridiculed, threatened, pressured, humiliated, verbally abused, targeted and attempted to be disrespected, & dehumanized and the long hours without a deputy, I took all of this without a murmur or public discourse and I walked away proudly after giving back a lot to my Country.
“I have no regrets whatsoever for my conscience is clear that I held firm to my principles and never walked away from my common touch and my humble nature with the people. It's all and the only way that I know. Thank you McKnight for grounding me in the smarts and arts of living in the land I love.”
During his stint, Speaker Martin had been the centre of controversy where the Federal Opposition filed and constantly called for the tabling of a number of Motions of No Confidence against the government which were never tabled.
Martin gave a number of reasons for their non-tabling, including the precedence that other bills took and that the matter was before the court and therefore could not be debated.
He, in his Facebook post, described the experience as very testing yet most rewarding.
“Thank you almighty God for being there during my most rewarding, very testing and life changing experience. The change I speak of is more quality time with my three children who are the gems of my life. The other enjoyment of life will only continue to be better because I never left them as Speaker. I knew my place and I knew who were my people. St. Kitts-Nevis I love you. Curtis Alden Martin-‘Mr. Speaker’.”
