ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – A new session of the Antigua and Barbuda Parliament began here on Tuesday with the country underscoring the importance of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to the further development of the regional integration movement, while also expressing concerns at the impact of ongoing global conflicts on regional economies.
Governor General, Sir Rodney Charles delivering the traditional Throne speech at the start of a new Parliamentary session (CMC Photo)Delivering the traditional Throne Speech during the ceremonial opening of the Parliament that was boycotted by opposition legislators, Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, said the re-appointment of E.P Chet Greene as Foreign Affairs Minister, Trade and Economic Development, signifies the government’s desire for the management of the state’s foreign affairs to be in the hands of a “very skillful minister…
“In addition to our international affairs that must be skillfully managed, our island state has been very much a part of a regional movement that goes back more than 80 years,” the Governor General said, noting that the 1946 manifesto of the ATNLU political committee speaks to Caribbean nationalism.
He said that the 1958 establishment of the West Indies Federation embodied the hopes and aspirations of the single Caribbean state and the 1965 CARIFTA Free Trade Agreement among Barbados, Guyana, and Antigua and Barbuda “spawned a larger movement in 1973 when the CARICOM was inaugurated.
“My government views CARICOM as essential to our island’s stability and prosperity. The several multilateral institutions created to meet the collective and individual needs of the CARICOM member states form a protective blanket that allows for collaboration and far-ranging security building measures.
“The future of the CARICOM is justly safeguarded by the leadership of our Minister of Foreign Affairs, my government believes, and the commitment by its other 14 members to manage many of our challenges collectively,” Sir Rodney told the ceremonial opening of the Parliament following the April 30 general election that saw the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) being returned to office for a fourth consecutive term with a 15-2 majority.
In his address, the head of state said that it is important for there to be “skillful management “ without which “could engulf our small island developing state in geopolitical battles that are not of our choosing.
‘All countries that are members of the United Nations have signed on to the Charter of this 80-year-old institution, which was created to ensure peace will reign on earth and that nations can turn their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks from the book of Isaiah…”
He said that there are two wars being waged by the strongest nations on earth, resulting in deaths in those affected countries and significant burdens being borne by small countries like Antigua and Barbuda.
“The Russian Federation and Ukraine began fighting each other more than four years ago, and many are the consequences for a Europe that last experienced war ending in 1945. As sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation caused its sale of energy products to decline, the price of fossil fuels globally began to rise.”
Sir Rodney said when the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran and that country closed one of the sea lanes through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil usually flows, the price of shipping, insurance, fuels, and consumer goods also began to rise globally.
“Small states have played no role in starting these conflicts that have generated tough economic choices for the people of Antigua and Barbuda, the Caribbean, and the people of these two large states,” he told legislators.
Sir Rodney said he was also pleased that during the campaign for the last general election here the “actions of the entire population during the recent weeks of campaigning by the political parties and independent candidates were nothing short of exemplary.
“Not a single incident of vandalism or violence. The entire four-week experience casually exceeded the dignity and high regard usually attributed to more mature democracies. We are a great nation.
“As a sovereign and democratic nation, we can all boast of the wisdom of our electorate. Despite the overwhelming influence of youth on the outcome of the contest and in the pledges of the party’s future outlook, the expected destination of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, my government asserts, is to transform our island state into a formidable economic power,” Sir Rodney said.
He said the government is determined to foster a renaissance in education, healthcare, housing, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, agriculture, investments, cultural expression, and other facets of life.
“The renaissance is intended to take our nation state by purpose and design to lasting progress and prosperity,” he added.
Prior to his address, opposition legislators walked out in support of the leader of the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP), Jamale Pringle, who had been asked by the Senate President Alicia Williams-Grant to leave the joint sitting of Parliament.
She noted Pringle had not taken the Oath of Allegiance at the start of the Parliamentary session, a session that saw most elected members sworn in and take the Oath one week earlier.
The four Opposition Senators Chester Hughes, Malaka Parker, Jonathan Wehner, and Ashworth Azille – stood and left abruptly, following Pringle out of the Chamber.
