BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LEADING attorney Charles Wilkin QC has warned new Attorney-General Hon. Patrice Nisbett that his stated goal of Nevis devolution could have troubling effects on the twin-island Federation.
In an SKNVibes article published on Monday (Mar. 15), Nisbett was quoted as saying that he expected the devolution process to be completed within the first half of this year, noting that it was one of his top priorities in his new role.
Devolution refers to the process of granting powers from a country’s central administration (such as the federal government) to a local or state government (the Nevis Island Administration).
According to Schedule Five of the Constitution, the NIA has exclusive power to make laws regarding agriculture, trade and business, and local economic development, among others. Nisbett was a legal advisor to the NIA prior to his history-making AG appointment.
Although Nisbett did not reveal which additional powers he was considering, Wilkin said it was “no secret” that those areas were education, taxation and security. He explained that if such authority was given to the NIA in addition to what it already has, the federal government would only have control over foreign affairs.
“There would be no justification for Nevis to continue to have the same leverage in a federal assembly if it controls exclusively all its own affairs except foreign affairs.
That would rip to shreds the already threadbare notion of a federation. No way can Nevis continue the current fiction of a federation if it achieves the devolution of which the AG speaks,” Wilkin claimed.
“With devolution must come a wholesale change of the governance structures for both islands. It would be manifestly unfair and undemocratic for Nevis representatives to remain in an assembly which has no powers to make laws for Nevis and still influence the governance and laws of St. Kitts.”
He said that Nisbett’s agenda was seemingly aimed at achieving the objectives of his Nevis Reformation Party in time for the 2011 local election. He called on the new AG to avoid a conflict of interest by turning his attention from devolution to overall constitutional reform.
“Look at [Nisbett’s] exact statement: ‘I will be able to push the matter and ensure we are able to achieve our desired objectives.’ Which ‘we’ is he referring to? Clearly Nevis not the federal government. The Labour Party has never stated its objective to be the devolution of Nevis.
“When he wrote the white paper he was purely a representative of a Nevis constituency,” Wilkin added. “Now he is the principal legal advisor to the government of the entire country.
“I respectfully suggest that he expand his stated priority from Nevis devolution alone to constitutional reform generally, which will address in a wholesome way the vexed constitutional status of Nevis and that of St. Kitts.”
