Open letter to Governor-General Sir Frederick Ballantyne

22.MAR.11

Your Excellency,

SVG Green Party is deeply saddened about and very concerned with the ugly incident in the SVG House of Assembly on 3rd March, 2011. Someone could have been fatally injured in the ugliness.{{more}}

The present Speaker has, beyond any shadow of a doubt, lost the confidence and respect of the Leader of the Opposition and other NDP parliamentarians. The Speaker should earn the respect of Parliamentarians, but instead he demands respect, and this is creating tension in the orderly functioning of the House of Assembly.

The Attorney General is also a very serious source of tension in the House of Assembly. Under section 41 (3) of SVG 1979 constitution, the Attorney General is not a member of the House of Assembly to vote. She voted illegally on the 29 December, 2010, with the ULP government, to appoint the Speaker of the House.

Under section 42 (1) and (2), the DPP is mandated to take the Attorney General to the High Court for illegal voting in the house. To date, no legal action has been taken against the Attorney General for this very serious offence. This is unacceptable. No one is above the law.

The perception of the Speaker and the Attorney General is that both are very biased and not suitable to hold such high public office. How in the name of good governance the Attorney General can wilfully vote with the ULP government? It is outrageous and stupid, to say the least. In a developed country, the Attorney General would have had to resign on 30 December, 2010.

SVG Green Party is making a humble and serious plea to his Excellency the Governor General, in the best interest of political stability in our beloved country, please appoint a new Speaker of the House of Assembly and a new Attorney General who can promote and maintain good governance in our beloved country.

Yours faithfully,
Ivan O’Neal BSc (Hons), MSc, MBA
Leader and Co-founder of SVG Green Party