BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Sam Condor has explained that years of difficulty with governance and Prime Minister Denzil Douglas’ leadership, culminating with the recent passage of the Increase of Senators Bill, led to him tendering his resignation from Cabinet.
Condor spoke with FreedomFM today (Jan. 31) after the media were informed of his resignation, explaining that even back in 2000 he had serious concerns. And while retreats should have provided some glimmer of hope, he said the situation did not improve.
He explained, however, that the straw that broke the camel’s back was when the Senators (Increasing of Number) 2012 Bill was passed in the Federal Parliament earlier this week (Jan. 29).
Describing it as a “travesty”, the former Deputy Prime Minister explained that the very undemocratic occurrences which should have been guarded against, took place on that day.
With six of 11 Parliamentarians voting against the Bill, Condor suggested that it should not have been passed. He said the Bill was allowed to go through because of the vote of the new Attorney-General, whom he feels was not correctly sworn in to the Parliament.
“I think things culminated this week Tuesday with the passage of the Increase in Senators Bill. I think that really was a demonstration of where we are. It was an all-time low, the conduct and behaviour of Parliament, the Parliamentarians. What happened there was really a travesty and so things in the last couple of months, there has been some tension (over the Land-for-Debt swap and the senators bills)…
“I’ve tried over the years to bring things together, to make adjustments and so on, but it wasn’t getting any better; and on Tuesday demonstrated that it would get a lot worse before it gets better. So, I thought that after that I would take a decision to resign for now, from the Cabinet, not from Parliament...I still am there serving.”
Now a Backbencher, Condor explained that his commitment to his country and people is in no wise diminished and he stands ready to continue serving his constituents and the country.
