OECS

OECS Meeting Regarding T&T To Be Held In St. Kitts

PM Douglas and PM Manning

PM Douglas (L) and PM Manning (R)
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
October 22, 2008 (CUOPM)

Thursday’s meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis between the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Patrick Manning and Heads of Government from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States will discuss further the idea of the oil-rich Caribbean republic becoming a member of the proposed sub-regional economic union and a subsequent political union with St. Lucia, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas in an interview with a reporter following a tour on Thursday afternoon of the work in progress to restore the Frigate Bay strip to normalcy by this weekend following damage by Hurricane Omar noted that Prime Minister Manning and OECS leaders met in St. Lucia last month to discuss the Port of Spain Initiative. Manning and the Grenada Prime Minister Hon. Tillman two months ago travelled to St. Kitts to brief Prime Minister Douglas on the initiative.

“We felt that the second initiative (Political Union) is a very serious initiative. We know that it is an initiative that is being proposed by those three OECS countries and Trinidad and Tobago. We believe that we wanted to discuss that in a much more frank and open way in the presence of the Prime Minister Manning and so we invited him to come to St. Kitts and Nevis when we meet on Thursday to pursue this particular discussion,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

The OECS proposes to put in place the Economic Union by 2009. Trinidad and Tobago wants to join the economic union by 2011. The Political Union comprising Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines should be implemented by 2013.

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Native Born OECS Chief Justice Is Guest Speaker At Conference

PM Douglas and Justice Rawlins

PM Douglas (L) and Justice Rawlins
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
September 02, 2008 (CUOPM)

New Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, His Lordship Mr. Justice Hugh Rawlins is the Guest Speaker at the 10th Annual Prime Minister’s Independence Lecture Series.

Appointed to the post in April this year, the Nevisian-born jurist presentation will be on “Pride, Development, Progress ““ Independence, 25 Years of Success” ““ the theme for this year’s Silver Anniversary of nationhood.

The lecture will be presented at the Sir Cecil Jacobs Auditorium at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) at 8 P.M. on Wednesday 17th September 2008.

Chief Justice Rawlins rose through the ranks of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. He joined the Court as one of the first two Masters in 2000, serving also as a High Court judge with responsibility for Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and the British Virgin Islands.

He was also appointed a Court of Appeal judge before his elevation to the top post within the OECS judiciary.

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PM Manning Desires OECS Economic Membership

PM Patrick Manning

Trinidad and Tobago PM – Patrick Manning

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
August 21, 2008 (CUOPM)

Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Patrick Manning said here Wednesday that his twin-island republic desires to become part of an economic union with the member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) by 2011.

The Prime Ministers of St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; the Foreign Ministers of Guyana and Barbados and the Secretary General of CARICOM and the Director General of the OECS met last week in Port of Spain with Prime Minister Manning to discuss the new thrust towards economic and political integration.

Prime Minister Manning and Grenada Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas were in Basseterre to sell the idea of a new economic union to St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.

“It is a coalition of the willing. What was missing over so many years, we believe, was the political will. The desire was there. The political will was much more difficult to muster. But on this occasion that is what we started to do.  That is why we made the commitment to bring to economic union by 2015. These are the times we have set and we are committed to work towards achieving those goals, it is a coalition of the willing. A big difference,” Prime Minister Manning told reporters following discussions with St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas at the St. Kitts Marriott Hotel and Royal Beach Casino.

“This arrangement in no way prejudices the OECS arrangement. In fact is preserves it. By going to the economic union first, the OECS is preserved and in doing that, we are also advancing the CARICOM agenda ““ going to a single economy in CARICOM by 2015,” said Manning.

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OECS Attorneys Generals Urged To Be Relentless

OECS Attorneys General In Tortola

OECS Attorneys General At Meeting In Tortola
Photo Courtesy Of BVI Information Services

Basseterre, Saint Kitts – Nevis
June 10, 2008 (CUOPM)

Attorneys-General from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have been urged to be relentless in the execution of their duties as watchdogs of their respective legal systems.

Speaking on behalf of the Government at a ceremony that marked the opening of the 14th Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Legal Affairs Committee meeting in Tortola, British Virgin Islands Deputy Premier and Minister for Health and Social Development Hon. Dancia Penn, OBE, QC told delegates they have a significant responsibility in the ongoing development of their respective nations.

“Part of the short message I would wish to leave is to urge you as attorneys general – guardians of the public interest and principal legal advisors to our governments – to be firm, to be relentless, to be fair as you work to strengthen our legal systems and our execution of governance at every level,” she said.

The Deputy Premier and former Attorney General and Deputy Governor also noted the historical and cultural ties that exist in the sub-region, and reiterated statements by the BVI Premier, Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE, which called for the BVI to continue a policy of cooperation with its Caribbean neighbours.

The Deputy Premier said she was pleased that one topic of the meeting would be model family law.

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