St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN)—Leader of the Opposition Hon. Mark Brantley has taken responsibility for the delay in convening the Public Accounts Committee following public criticism over the matter.
Brantley, who is also the Premier of Nevis, sought to clarify his position on the parliamentary body which is responsible for scrutinising government spending and public accounts.
“You have asked me that before and I find that it’s a little odd. I think I know who you are, and it’s a little odd that the Public Accounts Committee wrap it around my neck and says that you’re suspicious of me as if I’ve been the first leader of the opposition in this country. St. Kitts and Nevis got independence in 1983, I believe, if that’s correct. I was four years old at the time, not four, what am I saying? I would have been 14 years old, forgive me, I’m trying to take away some of my age. So I would have been a boy. We’ve had leaders of the opposition; we’ve had parliament functioning. The point that I was trying to make to you then and I’ll try to make to you now, holding up the PAC, the Public Accounts Committee, as some holy grail of opposition propriety, it’s nonsense. It’s nonsense because the country has functioned for the last 43 years this year without any such PAC having ever been constituted. No, that is not to suggest that it’s not a good idea or that having one might not be helpful.”
The PAC has come under increased public attention with some questioning why the committee has not yet been activated and whether it is fulfilling the role expected of it.
“But to hold that up and to say, look, Mark Brantley, you’re a bad leader of the opposition because you have not initiated the PAC. Well, that to my mind is a very convenient argument that you’re now advancing. So that is my concern about your argument because I never heard that argument when Dr Douglas was leader of the opposition. I didn’t hear that argument when whoever else has been there over the years has been leader of the opposition. You seem to have it as a litmus test for Mark Brantley’s effectiveness as leader of the opposition. And I say nonsense on that.”
Callers and others across the federation have also criticised Brantley for what they see as a failure to take a stronger position against the Hon. Dr Terence Drew-led administration on policies and legislation brought before parliament.
“So what is the solution with respect to the PAC as of now? No, I think the public accounts committee ought to be instituted. I don’t, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t shy away from that, but I’m saying that using it as if it’s the only litmus test as to the efficacy of the leader of the opposition is simply wrong. So whose job is it to put it in place? So it would be the leader of the opposition who would have to, you know, activate that process to get the PAC set up and to get the PAC going. So absolutely. So I take responsibility for that because I’m now in a position; I just take some umbrage at the suggestion that somehow it falls to me and only me and from time immemorial it’s only been me.”
Brantley, who was recently a guest on WINN FM’s ‘Island Tea’ programme, said he would not give a specific timeline when the PAC would be activated.
He said the matter would have to be discussed internally, noting that the framework for the committee already exists and that is what is needed for its activation.
Meanwhile, Brantley also addressed questions about his dual role as leader of the opposition in St. Kitts and Nevis and Premier of Nevis amid criticism over how the two roles affect the political relationship between the two islands.”
Responding to a caller, Brantley said, “If I can respond, caller, you said something about chemistry. Even husband and wife need chemistry to stay together. You can’t have relationships absent chemistry. There has to be a relationship that is based on some level of trust, some level of communication and frankly some level of mutual respect. If you don’t have that, any relationship collapses. That’s the first point I’d make. If you have people who resent each other, who are disrespectful to each other, then whatever the forming up of the relationship may mean in terms of saying fair share and this is a percentage and all that, you will have acrimony. That’s the simple point I’m making. So the two things go hand in hand. You can form up the framework while also trying to cultivate a respectful relationship. Dr Drew is not my friend. I don’t go to Dr Drew’s house for dinner. He doesn’t come to mine. But I just feel that, at a level, I’m the Premier of Nevis; he is the Prime Minister. I’m the leader of the opposition nationally. We should be able to engage. It’s as simple as that.
“If you had these things formed up before, it would not have waited so long, for instance because the federal government wouldn’t have had to by law or arrangement to contribute to geothermal and whatever else. Don’t wait until you get what you like.”
“I hear that. And we can debate all day what could have and what should have happened. But we are where we are. And so for me, there’s very little value in saying that this should have been done and that should have been done. The question is, what are we now doing? Now to speak to the other matters about the leader of the opposition. You mentioned, yes, but you mentioned something about stridency. And it gets back. That’s the word you use. But in St. Kitts and Nevis’s local parlance, stridency really means cussing. You’ve got to cuss somebody. That’s the view that we have. You’ve got to come out there. Wait, let me finish. You’ve got to come out there and lambaste somebody because that’s what opposition does. In some of the parliaments around the region, the fellows look like they even want to fight. That’s how we are accustomed to it happening. And I know it well because I had a stint as leader of the opposition. And I used to go after Dr Douglas as prime minister in an aggressive way. So I understand that. I’m simply saying that there is also room for constructive opposition. Opposition that is not just opposing, but also offering alternatives. And that is what I have tried to do. If anybody has been feigning through, I’ve actually been listening.”
“Isn’t that a convenient position now though?”
“I don’t know about any convenient position. I’m telling you what my position is. Whether it’s convenient or not, that is for you. That’s for the pundits. No, no, no. It’s not convenient for you. No, but I am telling you, you’re the one who’s putting a label on it. You said geothermal is transactional. You’re saying getting cheaper, powerful wind farm, getting cheaper, powerful.”
St. Kitts and Nevis Leader of the opposition Premier Hon, Mark Brantley.
