BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE 2010 incarnation of the Federal Cabinet was only established after “lots of discussion” and “lots of consultation”, said Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas.
The nine-member Cabinet, which consists of eight Labour Party representatives and Nevisian Hon. Patrice Nisbett as Attorney-General, was officially sworn in February 2 at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium. The composition of the new body was heavily criticised by the opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM), which said it had been designed to place absolute power in the Prime Minister’s hands.
In the January 25 General Election, Labour won six Seats, with PAM and the Concerned Citizens Movement claiming two apiece and the Nevis Reformation Party holding on to one.
PM Douglas, who has led Labour through four consecutive election victories since 1995, outlined how his new Cabinet came into existence during an appearance on his weekly “Ask the PM” radio show.
“You look at the government and its performance in the last term, the experience and capacity of the persons presented to you by the people, the programmes you identified in your manifesto and that were debated during the campaign and received support from the electorate.
“You decide how you’re going to bring all of that together to provide the services people will require for the next five years...that is how I operated in the past and that is how I operated today. There is a lot of consultation, a lot of discussion and then, finally, we put it together,” he explained.
The Federation’s leader stressed that the constitution was “very clear” about the Prime Minister’s duties in forming the Cabinet, but clarified why he undertook the lengthy consultative process. Douglas noted that he did not have a monopoly on knowledge and experience and, consequently, had drawn on these qualities from others to ensure he was “doing the right thing in the right way for the right purposes”.
“You would also pay attention to the particular consultations that were gleaned from meeting with your men. I had consultation with the group, with individuals and potential ministers, then together as a group. You then have to remember your own party’s direction because it was the party that fielded those candidates,” he added.
Douglas also gave the rationale behind the senatorial re-appointments of Hon. Nigel Carty and Hon. Richard Skerritt, stating that if there were not enough persons elected to pursue government programmes, one could reach into the constitutional provision of identifying Senators to assist the elected representatives.
Speaking to SKNVibes on Monday (Feb. 15), Carty said the new Cabinet had already met once, and spoke optimistically about its membership, particularly the inclusion of Nisbett as AG.
“We have had one meeting, Wednesday of last week, where the Prime Minister was able to more thoroughly outline his reasons for the allocation of the portfolios. The Cabinet is like one cohesive body.
“You couldn’t tell that Nisbett was there for the first time. That is because he has had a very strong and positive working relationship with us during his years in opposition. I have always had a good relationship with him; it will be a pleasure to work with him.”
