BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – INFORMATION about whether or not litigation in the Motion of No Confidence (MoNC) matter would be continued by the Team Unity Government is unclear, with the present Opposition suggesting that it is being continued.
Two Motions of No Confidence were filed against former Prime Minister Dr. the Rt. Hon. Denzil Douglas and his Government.
The then Opposition – which now constitutes the Team Unity Government – contended then that Dr. Douglas mismanaged the affairs of the country which led to the filing of the motions. The first was filed in December 2012 and that one was subsequently withdrawn and another filed.
Then Speaker of the National Assembly, the Hon. Curtis Martin, as expressed by the then Opposition, did not allow the MoNC to be placed on the Order Paper. That led to litigation action being taken by the members of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.
A couple of days ago, Opposition Member the Hon. Marcella Liburd told SKNVibes that according to information she received, the matter “is supposed to resume during this month in the High Court”.
She questioned the need to continue with such an action when, according to her, the original purpose of it was to have the Douglas-led administration removed from office.
“I don’t know what sense it makes, because it seems academic now. The whole point of having the Motion was to remove the Government. We had elections and the Government is no longer there. So what is the point of this Government continuing with the litigation in the Motion of No Confidence? Somebody could try to find out what sense that makes because it is just academic at this point in time.
“They would be better off trying to do some constitutional reform with respect to the Motion or passing some form of legislation that would change the time frame within which a motion is to be heard in the Parliament. That would make more sense at this point in time. It would be a waste of taxpayers’ money to continue this litigation.”
Subsequent to that interview, SKNVibes spoke with Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris about the same matter and he said the question of whether or not the Team Unity Government is continuing with the MoNC litigation would have to be answered by the Attorney General and the Government’s attorneys.
Attempts were made following this media house’s interview with MP Liburd and PM Harris to reach the Attorney General but they were unsuccessful.
Dr. Harris however explained that in this particular case, “We always thought that they were fundamental issues of law and constitution that had to be determined through a hearing of the Motion, and so the Motion that we brought to the court and the issue was intended to do more than forcing the government into calling and holding the Motion which would have eventually lead to an end of the life of that government.”
He further explained that “because we have yet to receive the latest advice from our senior counsel on the matter, we await for that advice and at the appropriate time our position will be made public”.
