Opposition pushes protest to oust government

Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton has called for a mass show of public support tomorrow morning at the House of Assembly to back a motion of no confidence in the government.

“We want the whole country to come down to the House of Assembly on Friday,” Mr. Skelton told the Beacon. “All those people who are concerned about the economy and everything else that is going on.”

The opposition leader accused Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley of “playing” with democracy and predicted that he would try to block the opposition’s no-confidence vote by packing the parliamentary agenda with other items.

“He is going to expand the order paper; he is going to do all sorts of stuff,” Mr. Skelton said. “What he is doing is playing with the democratic process.”

The comments came after opposition members used a three-hour broadcast on Tuesday evening to accuse Dr. Wheatley of a “failure of leadership.”

Mr. Skelton also used the forum, which was broadcast on the radio and social media, to call for mass public action.

Broadcast

During the broadcast, the six opposition members resurrected a motion of no confidence that was previously blocked on a parliamentary technicality in early September.

Moderator Eileene Parsons, a former National Democratic Party legislator, read off the motion that the opposition plans to bring to the HOA tomorrow. It lists 20 reasons the government deserves to lose power, including a recent mistake the opposition claims led to a $20 million overspend in annual public-sector pay.

Also cited were a lack of a cohesive economic plan, a failure to produce a national tourism strategy, infrastructure problems, crime, and the amount of public money spent on music events.

Economic priorities

Mr. Skelton said the government has its economic priorities wrong at a time when small businesses are being squeezed.

“It is true that financial services is holding its own, but it is not the biggest employer in this territory in terms of human resources,” he said during the broadcast. “What the premier is concentrating on lends nothing to the economic development of this country.”

Mr. Skelton added that “too many people need jobs” following a slowdown in economic development in recent years.

Opposition member Stacy Mather (R-at large) also supported the call for a rally.

“The public has made it very clear that they want a vote of no confidence — that they would like the opposition to get up and stand up and use what is in our arsenal on their behalf,” he said.

Premier declines to comment

With Dr. Wheatley’s government having a majority of one, it would take only a single vote from his ranks to join forces with the six opposition members and topple the administration.

Asked for his response to the opposition claims, Dr. Wheatley declined to comment.

“I have not listened to the radio appearance as yet, so I am not in the position to comment on it,” he told the Beacon.