BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE newest term of the Federal Parliament will commence on Wednesday, March 10, more than six weeks after Kittitians and Nevisians went to the polls to elect their government.
Additionally, a press release disseminated yesterday (Feb. 24) by Press Secretary Erasmus Williams stated that the annual budget address is set for Tuesday, March 23.
“Within a matter of weeks, there will be the Throne Speech at the opening of Parliament as well as the presentation of the 2010 fiscal budget,” revealed Prime Minister Dr. Hon. Denzil Douglas at a press conference last week.
“The special emphasis of this government during this term on the heightened development of our people will be clear, with innovative policies to develop the individual and to energise communities. This is because success in any area—that is, agriculture, crime-fighting, entrepreneurship, the arts, community health—begins and ends with the individual and the community.”
The incumbent St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) won six electoral seats in the January 25 election, while the People’s Action Movement (PAM) and Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) claimed two apiece and the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) picked up the remaining seat.
The federal cabinet, consisting of eight SKNLP and one NRP representative, was officially sworn in early February. Its returning members are PM Douglas, Deputy PM Hon. Sam Condor, Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, Hon. Dr. Earl Asim Martin, and Senators Hon. Nigel Carty and Hon. Ricky Skerritt.
Hon. Marcella Liburd, Hon. Glenn Phillip and Hon. Patrice Nisbett are the fresh faces in the executive body, although Nisbett, the first Nevisian Attorney-General post-independence, has been in the National Assembly since 2000.
The opposition benches will be led by returning parliamentarian Mark Brantley, who will be supported by his CCM leader Vance Amory and PAM’s Shawn Richards and Eugene Hamilton.
The identity of the opposition senator, who will be chosen by the PAM representatives, is still unknown, although Richards promised that a press release would soon be issued.
Speaking to SKNVibes shortly after his re-appointment was made public, Brantley stressed his willingness to cooperate with the government on issues of national interest, particularly crime. He however noted that the responsibility for implementation and execution would still rest with the government.
The last parliamentary term opened on December 16, 2004 and was officially dissolved by PM Douglas on December 15, 2009, mere hours before it would have constitutionally expired. For much of 2009, the government focused on approving changes to the electoral boundaries, a move that was repeatedly stalled in the court by PAM officials.
In interviews since the election, Douglas has reiterated his party’s intention to continue pursuing boundary adjustments.
