Basseterre, St. Kitts December 14th 2011

In a live press conference held this morning, the Members of the Opposition fully discussed the reasons behind their boycott of the 2011 Budget Debate in Parlia

Opposition Parliamentarians

The Hon. Leader of the Opposition Mr Mark Brantley declared that the Opposition is indeed fulfilling its role by boycotting the Budget Debates. He insisted that the Opposition’s role in a democracy is to be the voice against oppression, and to stand up against injustice, and that it what the Opposition is doing.

He asserted that the boycott is about taking a conscious stand against the failed policies of the Douglas Administration which have placed the country in a financial crisis. He pinpointed the fact that the national debt to GDP ratio stands at 199%, the highest in the region, while the OECS average is 95%. The Prime Minister of Greece recently resigned when the country’s debt to GDP ratio reached 130%.

Mr. Brantley stated that the Labour Government has disrespected the concerns of the country for far too long, and the boycott is a rejection of business as usual. He maintained that the Opposition stands with the people and puts the cause of the people at the forefront.

The Opposition Members have stated that they will not participate in the Budget Debates which they see as a farce of democracy.

During the proceedings, they were asked to address a commentary by Charles Jong of Disseminate-It. The commentary stated that the five members of Opposition received a total of $300,000 in salary in 2011 and suggested that they did not deserve it in light of their boycott of the Budget Debate in Parliament.

The Hon. Shawn Richards responded by asking whether the author of that commentary, Charles Jong, does not himself collect almost $300,000 in salary through a PR contract that he has with the Labour Government, and whether he deserves that salary. This salary – the combined total of that received by all the Opposition members – was agreed between Charles Jong and the Government, however, the Opposition Members have no say in what their salaries are.

In addition, Mr. Richards pointed to the fact that the Labour Government manufactured two advisory positions for the defeated Labour candidates in the 2010 elections, Cedric Liburd and Norgen Wilson, who are each receiving salaries that are higher than the candidates who defeated them in the General Election.

He then highlighted all the work that the Opposition has done in Parliament on behalf of the nation in order to improve the system of governance. The Opposition Members have made comprehensive contributions in Parliament seeking to implement fundamental values of integrity, transparency and accountability in public affairs. But because the Opposition Members may disagree with the Government on various issues, their efforts are simply ridiculed and overruled without the courtesy of any engagement or discussion.

This was reiterated by the Hon. Eugene Hamilton who added that he hoped the boycott will draw attention to the fact that the Douglas Administration has utterly failed the country, and “enough is enough”.

While the Labour Government pays Charles Jong hundreds of thousands to spread propaganda, Labour recently spent well over $300,000 in taxpayers’ money when they took a frivolous case to the courts to disqualify Mr Hamilton from Parliament. The Government lost this case at the High Court and wasted more money taking the case to the Court of Appeal and losing again in a unanimous decision. Mr Hamilton is of the view that it is bold hypocrisy for the Government to try and complain when they clearly have been fighting to prevent him from doing his job in Parliament in the first place. He proclaimed that the Government has been wasting taxpayers’ money left, right, and centre while asking the public to “take a haircut”. He stated by example that the Labour Government spent $26.9 million yearly in travel and subsistence alone, and PM Douglas recently flew to Dubai for vacation using public funds while the country is suffering.

Article provided by The SKN Times

http://www.facebook.com/SKNTimes

(14 December, 2011)

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