Hon Vincent Byron sworn in for second term in cabinet of Team Unity Administration
News
Office of the AG
HIGHLIGHTS
On Sunday 14th June 2020 the Honorable Vincent Byron was sworn in for a second term of office in the Executive Branch of Government of St. Kitts and Nevis. He took the triple oaths to serve as Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs in the new Team Unity Administration.
In this new term of the new Federal Cabinet, the Communications portfolio has not been included in his portfolio as opposed to the 2015 elections where Minister Byron had first served as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Legal Affairs and Communications.
This development is in keeping with the availability of an expanded slate of Cabinet positions resulting from an increased number of Parliamentary seats being won by Team Unity.
As a fitting legacy of Minister Byron’s tremendous achievements in his first term, some of his notable highlights are as follows:
- The refurbishment of the ICT Centre
- the seminal promotion of IT as a public good
- launching of a national digital transformation strategy
- The strengthening of a government-wide area network and others.
- All educational institutions equipped with internet connectivity and the development of an Edu-Net
- The developing of an effective partnership with The Cable following the establishment of expanding broadband for advancing digital penetration across the island of St. Kitts and offering fibre to all households on the island
- the goal of creating a curriculum to teach code to children at the primary school level
- Strides in the development of E-Government
- the upgrade of St. Kitts and Nevis in its world ranking from 54th to 34th place out of 175 countries and being adjudged the most dynamic country for access and use of the internet in the entire western hemisphere
- the receipt by St. Kitts and Nevis of two of the three awards at the 14th World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium in Botswana
- Attorney General Website to be launched in 2020
In addition to providing government-wide support in the form of counsel and advice to all ministries and departments, the Office of the Attorney General contributed to the robust Parliamentary life of the Legislature. Forty-eight (48) sittings of the Parliament deliberated upon the eighty-eight (88) Bills produced at an average of fifteen (15) per annum.
Highlights of Minister Byron’s achievements in this regard include:
- Opening of New Second High Court April 2017
- Establishment of a Land Registry 2017
- Freedom of Information Act Passed 2018
- Data Protection Act Passed 2018
- Establishment of Integrity Commission 2018 – 2020
- Abolition of Preliminary Inquiries March 2018
- Land Administration Information System Launched July 2018
- Laws Revision and Laws Online Project Launched 2018
- New Law Reform Commissioner March 2019
- New Batch of Mediators Trained March 2019
- Appointment of Additional Magistrate 2019
- Motion of No Confidence Act Passed September 2019
- Cadastral Mapping Project Launched October 2019
- Mediation Committee Established November 2019
- Cadastral Mapping Project Launched 2019
- Motion of No Confidence Legislation Passed 2019
- SKN’s Improved Ranking in World Justice Report 2018-2019
- SKN Successful Participation in MESICIC Conference 2018
- Govt. Acquires C & C Building to House MJLAC Departments 2019
- New High Court Annex Under Construction 2019/2020
- Third Magistrate Court Facility pending 2020
- Laws Online Website launched March 2020
Going forward, the ongoing transformative work of the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs will continue to impact the performance of the government over the upcoming years of the new term.
These important areas of ministerial oversight provide an appropriatet meeting place where law and order and access to justice can commune in perfect harmony to advance the good governance agenda of the Team Unity Government.
