The seven Opposition parliamentarians have once again boycotted a session of National Assembly citing their refusal to “legitimize the proceedings”. The National Assembly convened today (July 17) with only the 8 government parliamentarians. Last Monday the 7 Opposition members turned up to a sitting of the Assembly but left prematurely after the Speaker of the House Hon. Curtis Martin declared he would hear no discussions relating to the Motion of No Confidence as the matter was still before the court. Federal Opposition Leader Hon. Mark Brantley told The Observer he wrote to the Speaker on Monday (July 15) inquiring if the Motion would be debated. He said he reminded Hon. Martin that the Opposition MPs had withdrawn the court case and thus there was no MoNC matter before the court brought by them. “We can say without fear of contradiction is that at the times of writing this letter there is NO EXISITING ACTION before the High Court brought by the elected majority. The previous action has been discontinued….. In light of that therefore, I wish to inquire formally of you whether the Motion of No Confidence filed with the Clerk of Parliament since December 11 th, 2012 or indeed since July 5th, 2013 will be tabled for debate in the National Assembly on the sitting slated for Wednesday July 17th,”Brantley’s letter stated. Hon. Brantley told The Observer the Speaker responded electronically to say that the status quo remains. “He informed me that the statement he made last week still stands as the matter is still before the court,’the Minister said. Former Government Minister turned Opposition MP Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris explained that his colleagues did not and would not participate in parliamentary proceedings as long as the “illegitimate minority government of Dr. Denzil Douglas”and Speaker Martin “collude and refuse to bring the Motion of No Confidence to be heard for over 7 months”. “We the UNITED and Elected Majority of the National Assembly of St. Kitts and Nevis will not participate in or add any legitimacy to the illegitimate minority government of Dr. Denzil Douglas…We see this as a blatant subversion of democracy in this our beloved country,”he said. Last Monday six Bills were passed in the Honorable House- teed to be answered as well, such as how to collectively deal with possible future shortages of energy, principally oil. As Sir Venner asserted in his presentation, “The Currency Union consists of very small states with limited fiscal space and regulatory resources and highly stretched policy capabilities. The critical lesson learnt in 2009 was the power of collective action.”
