Douglas says "will continue to speak against corruption"

After the labour party's parliamentarians were excluded from St Kitts and Nevis delegation to the meeting of OECS Assembly, former Prime Minister and the leader of Opposition in St Kitts- Nevis, Dr Denzil L Douglas said this will not prevent the Party from speaking out against corruption and nepotism in St Kitts and Nevis Government.

The OECS Assembly is one of the principal bodies of the OECS Economic Union which was created under the Revised Treaty of Basseterre.

In August 2012, the first OECS Parliamentary Assembly was convened in Antigua and the delegation led by then Prime Minister Dr Denzil L Douglas and then government ministers - Hon Dr Timothy Harris and Hon Marcella Liburd also included then opposition parliamentarians Mark Brantley, who was Leader of the Opposition and Hon Eugene Hamilton.

Now the tables changed as Douglas and Liburd are in sit on the opposition benches and Harris is PM and holds seats on the Government benches with Brantley and Hamilton.

During an interview on Kyss 102.5 FM Douglas said that the revised Treaty of Basseterre explicitly mandates that along with Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition must be included as part of the delegation attending the Assembly. "The Leader of Opposition also has the right to choose one other government member," he added.

"The ruling party Team Unity continues to do everything possible to prevent members of Opposition from participating in any public consultation on pertinent matters locally and regionally," said Dr Douglas,

This is not the first occasion that Harris administration has excluded Labour parliamentarians from consultations, in the past years they have not been part of consultations on crime, the economy, the important workshop dealing with the Integrity in Public Life Act.

The OECS Assembly has convened three times since 2016 (July, 2016, December, 2017 and June, 2019).

"The government have never included Office of the Leader of the Opposition to take part in such events. This is an outrage that should not be allowed to continue. They believe and wishes it did not have an Opposition, but the Opposition is here," he said.

Dr Douglas said the Parliamentary Opposition will remain steadfast and will continue to provide constructive and objective criticism to the under performance of the Harris regime and will call it out when it is necessary.

"We will continue to speak out against corruption in St Kitts and Nevis government, so that by not inviting the opposition to participate in the affairs of the OECS Assembly in Antigua and Barbuda yesterday, does not in any way silence the Opposition here in St Kitts and Nevis," he said.