Michael Perkins a “rogue Speaker”; Opposition legislators  not on planning committee for CPA meeting

Photo 1 – Hon. Nigel Carty

By: Erasmus Williams

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, May 25^th 2017 – An opposition senator has labelled the Speaker of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly “a rogue Speaker” and accused Hon. Michael Perkins of refusing to include opposition members on the organising committee for a meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in St. Kitts and Nevis next month.

“We believe he is more of a political activist rather than an impartial judge,” said Labour Party Sen. Hon. Nigel Carty. He disclosed that complaints against Speaker Perkins will be raised at an upcoming CPA Meeting for the Atlantic and Caribbean to be held in St. Kitts and Nevis from June 17^th to 23^rd.

“We would want to raise the issue of his conduct in the Parliament. We would want to raise the issue that the opposition after cataloguing a series of offences of poor judgement, of partiality, having placed a Motion of No Confidence against the Speaker and he sat in the (Speaker’s) Chair at a Sitting of the National Assembly and determined that there was no case against him and he was going to dismiss the motion,” Carty told WINNFM.

Photo 2 – Hon. Michael Perkin

Carty also raised the issue of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) pointing out that after nearly two and a half years of continuous agitation inside and outside of Parliament, the Prime Minister has found the time just three weeks before the CPA Conference to indicate he is ready to appoint the Public Accounts Committee.

Mr. Carty said the Denzil Douglas-led St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) appointed the last Public Accounts Committee, Member for Nevis 9 and then Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Mark Brantley as Chairman of the PAC.

“Other members were Hon. Shawn Richards, opposition, and from the Government side, Hon. Nigel Carty, Hon. Patrice Nisbett and Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris,” said Carty who added: “We met and began to look at how we were going to get our work done.” He said after some time he began calling Mr. Brantley but never got a response.

Carty, a former minister of education, information and agriculture said he has reliable information that in response to sound advice from another parliamentary speaker, Mr. Perkins refused to include opposition parliamentarians on the Organising Committee for the upcoming Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Meeting.

“This is a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting not a St. Kitts and Nevis government meeting,” said Sen. Carty.