The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Michael Perkins, has sought to turn the tables on Opposition Leader Dr. Denzil Douglas, and is suggesting that an apology from the former prime minister might be in order following accusations made regarding the non-participation of opposition politicians at the sitting of the OECS Assembly in Antigua in June.
Last month, Douglas said he had written to Perkins, requesting a formal apology and explanation for the exclusion of the Parliamentary Opposition from the national delegation to the OECS Assembly.
In his letter, Douglas said that Article 10 of The Revised Treaty of Basseterre makes provision for the establishment of the OECS Assembly which is the principal body that reviews legislation passed by the OECS Authority and the regulations made by the respective Ministerial Councils.
“It is my understanding, based on my inquiries with the OECS Commission based in St Lucia, that the Speaker of the various national parliaments of member states is the focal point and lead coordinator responsible for inviting and facilitating the participation of the five government officials who would comprise the national delegation attending the event,” Douglas wrote.
He said that Leader of the Opposition had the option of selecting one other member of the opposition benches to attend the Assembly that coincided with the meeting of OECS leaders.
“The language of the Treaty is explicit and should need no interpretation, yet, the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition of St Kitts and Nevis has not been invited to any of the three sittings of the OECS Assembly that took place in July 2016, December 2017 and now, June 2019,” Douglas wrote.
But as he addressed the issue during the suiting the Parliament here this week, Perkins said contrary to the position adopted by Douglas, he was not responsible for selecting the legislators who participated in the OECS Assembly.
Perkins said that while there is a procedure that allows the local Parliament to play the kind of role that Douglas had alluded to, that provision has never been activated in the Federation.
“Our Parliament can only assume any authority to select or nominate any of its members to serve in the OECS Assembly if and only if a resolution setting out the exact procedure to do so is approved by our Parliament.
“Our research shows that no such resolution was ever passed or even considered since the establishment of the OECS Assembly in 2012. In the absence then of such a resolution or authority I am of the view that the government and the opposition can simply select and advise the secretariat of the OECS Commission,” Perkins said.
He told lawmakers that of particular note, is the fact that “I have been advised that this indeed has been the practice.
“As it stands now, all this has absolutely nothing to do with the functioning or role of our Parliament or that of me as Speaker” Perkins said, adding what obtains in St Kitts and Nevis is also the norm in the other OECS member states in relation to the local legislators participating in the regional assembly.
The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands and Anguilla. Only the elected opposition parliamentarians attend the OECS Assembly.
