Governor General delivers Throne Speech during the National Assembly

The first sitting of the National Assembly to signal the start of the new Parliamentary term was convened on Wednesday 8^th July 2020 at the Marriott Ballroom in Frigate Bay. His Excellency Sir S. W. Tapley Seaton, Governor General of St. Kitts and Nevis, delivered the Throne Speech providing an overview of the vision for the second term of the Team Unity Administration. This was the highlight of the proceedings for the sitting.

This was preceded by:

• The Royal Proclamation read by Clerk of the Assembly Mrs. Sonia Boddie-Thompson
• An Invocation by Rev Adelyn Mgonela of the Moravian Church
• The Election of a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker, respectively both of whom took the Oath of Allegiance
• All Members present, nine (9) Representatives and three (3) Senators took their oaths of office.

Notably absent from this inaugural sitting were any members on the ‘Opposition’ side. Neither Hon  Dr. Geoffrey Hanley who was returned as the Representative for Constituency One and Rt. Hon Dr. Denzil Douglas who was returned as the Representative for Constituency Six, attended the sitting. No Senator had as yet been nominated on the Opposition Benches.

The historical staging of the sitting of the inaugural National Assembly outside of the Parliament Chamber was done in a manner to accommodate the invited guests within a venue that offered greater capacity for physical distancing in light of the Nation’s response to COVID-19.

Click to see Throne Speech