Saint Kitts PM Denzil Douglas

Funding for HIV/AIDS and ‘No Confidence Motion’ on Prime Minister Douglas’ Agenda

By William Doyle-Marshall

Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas is the Regional spokesperson on health and HIV matters attending the UNAIDS Conference taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia. “I am going there together with some other political leaders and those who are working in the HIV/AIDS fight. We are going to look at some new initiatives which have to be pursued,” the Prime Minister promised. In addition, he will be speaking to the parliament in Barcelona bringing to the attention of Spain and Europe of the need for continued support as the Caribbean region and as UN/AIDS generally and globally continue their fight against HIV/AIDS.

  Speaking with media practitioners in Toronto last Saturday, Dr. Douglas said in the continuing fight against HIVAIDS there has to be the highest political support if the AIDS pandemic affecting the Caribbean region is to be managed. Over the years health professionals  have been able in the Caribbean to develop particular initiative called the Pan Caribbean partnership in the fight against HIVAIDS. This has been identified by the United Nations as an international model that can be followed and replicated by other regions of the world, Dr. Douglas reported.

                                       PM Dr.Denzil Douglas in Toronto

   “In that context we are looking at some of the new initiatives which are to be pursued in continuing the fight against HIV/AIDS. We all are aware that the global, financial and economic crisis and its prolongation has been affecting every single country around the world,” the Prime Minister explained. There is concern at UNAIDS that the level of financing needed for the fight against HIV/AIDS has been declining over the years.

  Meanwhile, Dr. Douglas admitted that a  motion of no confidence brought by members of his Opposition against his government and defection of two members last year has been a distraction and of some concern because it came at a time when the country was attempting to resolve a lot of the financial and economic challenges it was facing. “It became a distraction because it was at a time when we were about to go into parliament with a budget for2013, that would have shown for the first time, after several years, a surplus,” Dr. Douglas explained in an interview here with members of the Toronto media fraternity.

   The budget which was approved by parliament last week, returns the national economy on a path of positive growth, he said. Naturally a situation where serious initiatives were being pursued to have more of our people employed; a reduction in the corporation tax from 35%to33% and hopefully over the next year or so to 30% took precedence over the motion, the Prime Minister said.  The government’s proposal of taxation reduction calls on the private sector to use this tax break to be re-invested and thereby expand their operations. Such action would provide a level of support to government and the country, as a whole as attempts are being made to tackle unemployment in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Douglas emphasized.

   While the defection of these two members of government could not have come at a worse time, the Prime Minister insisted that democracy is alive and well in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The motion of no confidence was treated with a certain amount of priority and knowing that it had to come before the parliament, the government also guided by the constitution and by the rules of the House. “The rules of the House say that government business must take precedence over private business in the parliament,” Dr. Douglas added.

  Members of the Opposite went to the court seeking a ruling to basically to bring the work of the parliament to in order to bring the motion of no confidence to parliament. Last Thursday the court ruled that the parliament could not be stopped from doing its work because there was a motion of no confidence substantive matter to be heard. So the injunction that the opposition was requesting the court to grant to prevent the parliament from doing its other business, that was not granted. The injunction was not granted. It was withdrawn in the end by the opposition. The court’s ruling means parliament can now meet to do the important business of the people and when the substantive matter of the motion would have been heard then “maybe the motion would get on the order paper and it will be debated and eventually voted upon. As of now the government has had a substantial victory on this matter because it has not been stopped from pursuing the other matters.

  The constitution does not speak to when a motion of no confidence must be heard by the parliament. In addition, government followed the tradition established way back in 1981when the Saint Kitts and Nevis government of the day had a motion of no confidence which has never been heard. It was put back into parliament in 1982 and up to now it has not been debated. “Following on these traditions and on what exactly is our constitutional framework, we eventually have decided that with the budget having been announced before the motion of no confidence was brought to the clerk of the house, the budget must be heard first,” Dr. Douglas recalled. Last week Tuesday the budget was passed, unanimously and government is now waiting for the possibility of having the motion placed on parliament’s order paper.