Throughout the Legislative Assembly sitting, the members of the opposition and the governing members presented their positions on the motion submitted by Honourable Opposition Leader Donaldson Romeo two weeks ago.
Honourable Opposition Leader Donaldson Romeo said in his closing remarks in the Legislative Assembly that the “premier is playing a gamble game with the rights of the people of Montserrat and deserves a vote of no confidence. This vote will put on the record for the world and the UN that the recommendation made by the premier [to remove Montserrat from the UN Decolonisation’s list] is null and void. It is misleading and does not have the support of the people of Montserrat.”
Premier Meade noted in his presentation that as leader of government he maintained the right to speak on behalf of Montserrat and used the Quit, Ecuador presentation to encourage the UN Committee on Decolonisation to use their considerable resources to benefit the islands and nations on the list.
Honourable Deputy Premier Charles Kirnon noted that Montserrat has never received any benefits from being on the list and he was in support of the premier’s continued leadership. Honourable Minister of Education & Health Colin Riley said he supported his premier and the efforts to continue to boost the island’s economy. He also welcomed the announcement that a tobacco manufacturing plant is slated to begin operations here in January 2013.
Honourable Member of the Opposition Victor James said while he was not in support of a tobacco company operating on island, he maintained confidence in the government to make the best decisions for Montserrat’s economic growth.
Former Chief Minister and member of the opposition, Hon. Dr. Lowell Lewis voted against the government noting that the Premier and his ministers had not fulfilled the mandate laid out in their party’s manifesto as presented in 2009. He also stated that the Quito remarks were misleading and could jeopardise Montserrat’s ability to gain the support necessary from the international organisation.
The motion was denied 7 – 2 with all members of the government, including the two Parliamentary Secretaries Hon. David Osborne and Hon Jermaine Wade, and Opposition member Victor James voting against it.
Following the rejection of the motion, the assembly continued with the reading of several bills, including the Immigration Amendment Act, Physical Planning Amendment Act 2012 and Magistrates Court Amendment Bill.
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
Montserrat News