Good Governance: Attorney General Wilkin highlights Government’s achievements

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, November 26, 2024 (MMS-SKN) -- In its sustained effort to keep constituents abreast of the workings of their government, Constituency Number Five Labour Branch Executive had Attorney General, and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, the Hon Garth Wilkin, as the featured speaker at their Monthly Branch Meeting held on Sunday, November 24, at the St. Anne’s Anglican Church Hall in Sandy Point.

The St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party-led Government has done so much in the two years it has been in office, but Hon Wilkin observed that all it has done so far will start showing in 2025, adding that “I have every faith that what we are doing is setting St. Kitts Nevis on an unbelievable path, and people are going to see it. So have faith.”

The speaker, who was invited by the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party’s Caretaker for Constituency Number 5 Ambassador His Excellency Kenneth Douglas, told the meeting that the first thing that he did after reading Labour Party’s manifesto was to create a Manifesto Legislative Agenda, and from a technical perspective based on the workings of the ministries, he created the Ministries Legislative Agenda.

“So there were two Legislative Agendas, one for the Manifesto and one for the Government generally, and we started to work,” said the Attorney General. “First parliament sitting was October 25, 2022 - that is only two years and less than one month ago, and we have already passed 58 Acts. We have been in parliament at least once a month for that period, so we have been in parliament 25 times so far.”

Saying that they found the country in a mess and full of corruption, the Labour Party-led government had to put in laws that would bring good governance to the country. These included Integrity in Public Life, Anti-Corruption Act, Freedom of Information, WhistleBlower Protection, and the Ombudsman, among the things that are necessary for democracy to work properly.

“Then, crime,” said the Attorney General. “It is an all-of-society thing - we all know that, one: There is no silver bullet in solving crime, and all of us have to do our part. So from our parliamentary perspective what we did was we strengthened the criminal justice system. We also implemented and strengthened the rehabilitation laws.”

In giving a better perspective as it relates to the Judge-alone trials, the Attorney General observed that nobody in Parliament objected when it was passed because it only affects 30 percent of the matters. He pointed out that it was not about doing away with the juries, explaining that it was about certain matters like gang matters, where people could intimidate jurors.

“If the DPP has evidence that the jury will be contaminated and intimidated, and become fearful to give a proper verdict, they can apply to the judge for there to be a judge-only trial. It is not something that is going to happen throughout. So when you hear a lot of that talk, that talk is not true. It is very limiting in its scope, and it is something that is being done throughout the Caribbean.”

Held under the theme ‘Developing Our Community through Ideas and Embracing the Challenges Together,’ the meeting was chaired by Branch Executive Chairman Mr. Leroy Benjamin Jr. In the audience was a delegation from Constituency Number Seven led by Chairman of its Labour Party Branch Executive, Mr. Nigel Williams.

The guest speaker, the Hon Garth Wilkin, took time to explain what the government has done in the area of the dreaded and widespread domestic violence. He advised that a victim now does not need to go to the High Court as was the case before, as they could take their case to the Magistrate’s Court even without a lawyer to file their summons, and would be given a restraining order.

Other areas touched on included the Cannabis Laws which the Government had to rationalise, while at the same time passing the Rastafari Rights Recognition Act, noting that Rastafari is a recognised religion by the courts. He also told the meeting that Parliament also passed a new Consumer Protection Act, which a lot of people are still not aware of, noting that it gives them power to report on any suspected price gouging.

“We also entered into an agreement with the African Export-Import Bank, also referred to as Afreximbank,” said Hon Wilkin. “It is a bank based in Africa, which has decided that the Caribbean is the Diaspora of Africa. They set aside US$1.5 billion to loan to companies to do business in the Caribbean. So we passed that very early on.”

Reporting that Barbados just got a US$40 million project out of the Afreximbank, the Attorney General added: “We have two potential projects that already have approval that the Prime Minister will talk about in the Budget. One of them is an energy project, and the other one is a fish production project, which could potentially hire thousands of people. These projects are in their early stages, but the bank will fund them.”

In the area of housing, the Attorney General confirmed what Labour Party’s Caretaker for Constituency Number 5 Ambassador His Excellency Kenneth Douglas had told the meeting, when he said that Sustainable Development has designated areas, among them one in Sandy Point, where they will do a cluster of houses.

“We made a commitment to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis that we will build 2,400 houses in the whole of St. Kitts,” Ambassador Douglas had told the meeting in his opening remarks. “We have identified a large patch of land at Broke’s Extension that we are going to be using for the purposes of building houses. Very shortly you will see backhoes and tractors there clearing off the land and as soon as that is finished, then we will start to build houses in that area.”

Ambassador Douglas noted that there are two activities still remaining on their calendar of events for this year. They are the annual children’s party and a breakfast, both of which he hinted would be held with a difference. The next Branch General Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 26, 2025.

ENDS

Pix captions:

1: Attorney General, and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, the Hon Garth Wilkin, addresses Constituency Number Five Labour Branch Executive Branch Monthly Meeting on Sunday, November 24, at the St. Anne’s Anglican Church Hall in Sandy Point.

2: St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party’s Caretaker for Constituency Number 5 Ambassador His Excellency Kenneth Douglas, addresses Branch’s Monthly Meeting held on Sunday, November 24, at the St. Anne’s Anglican Church Hall in Sandy Point.

3: A member in the audience, standing at the back, poses questions to the head table during the Constituency Number Five Branch Executive Meeting.

4: Branch Executive Chairman Mr. Leroy Benjamin Jr. (standing) delivers welcoming remarks. With him at the head table are guest speaker Attorney General, the Hon Garth Wilkin (right), and Ambassador His Excellency Kenneth Douglas.

5: Another member in the audience, a lady standing, addresses the head table, giving suggestions on how the Sandy Point area and its environs could be better improved for the benefit of all people.

Authored by Peter Ngunjiri