…cannot turn blind eye to hardship of people of the land
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE six Members of Parliament who had expressed their lack of confidence in Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas and the government he leads, boycotted today’s Budget 2013 Presentation and have outlined their reasons for doing so.
Sometime after 10:00 a.m. – while other Members of the Federation’s law-making body were in Parliament – the six men were at the Ocean Terrace Inn hosting a press conference during which they indicated to the media and the public, the issues over which they are aggrieved.
The men are Opposition Leader Mark Brantley, Opposition Members the Hons. Vance Amory, Shawn Richards and Eugene Hamilton, and Government Backbenchers the Hons. Dr. Timothy Harris and Sam Condor.
Delivering the opening address, Dr. Harris explained that six cannot turn a blind eye to the hardships and complaints of the people and businesses of this land under the hand of the current administration.
He said business persons are inquiring as to when the hardships would end and have indicated that “they long for the day when a sensitive and competent government would pursue policies that put money in the pockets of the ordinary people and build a better and more vibrant middle class”.
And he explained that by the action they have taken, the Parliament’s elected majority is drawing the attention of the international community to the crisis which the Federation currently faces.
“As it stands, our Parliament has been reduced to a laughing stock. Decorum in the House is often absent and those on the government side never behave well. Our people deserve better and we – the elected majority – are fighting for the betterment of all the people of St. Kitts and Nevis. By absenting ourselves from Parliament, we are bringing to the attention of the wider national, regional and international community, a governance crisis in our country and the hardship of our people. It is our fervent belief that our people deserve better and they must be given the chance to vote for their betterment and for the betterment of our beloved country.”
Another of the reasons Harris highlighted as affecting their decision to boycott the Budget 2013 Presentation, is the fact that to date the Motion of No Confidence – more than 115 days after it was filed – has yet to be brought before the Federal Parliament.
“The ongoing deliberate neglect by the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister and his administration of the obligation to ensure that the Motion of No Confidence…is given the highest priority, is a reckless disregard of the people of this country to have a government of their choice comprising the majority of elected representatives.”
In 2011, Opposition Members took similar action which was as a direct result of their view that the Prime Minister was bent on preventing the Integrity in Public Life Bill 2011 from being passed into law.
Speaker of the National Assembly the Hon. Curtis Martin, during the commencement of today’s session, noted that he did not receive any indication from the six Members of Parliament that they would not have been present at the sitting.
