Widespread Outrage as Investigations Reveal Former Douglas Administration Spent $80 million on Legal Expenses in Waning Years of Regime
The citizens and residents of St.Kitts-Nevis were rocked by stunning revelations regarding yet more seemingly outrageous expenditure of monies by the former Dr. Denzil Douglas led government. In a Special press Conference convened on Tuesday afternoon by Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris and some of his cabinet colleagues. Dr. Harris stunned the world when he revealed that the former Dr. Denzil Douglas Government had spent an astronomical $80 million plus on legal fees over the last few years of his waning regime
According to a statement by Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris the majority of the money was spent during the periods 2013 to 2015 in paying Lawyers in the government’s efforts to avoid debating the Motion of No Confidence and efforts to defend the travesty that took place in parliament to add an additional senator and in recent months the so called emergency sitting of parliament in an attempt to make changes to boundaries on the eve of elections.
Lawyers including Anthony Astaphan QC, Henry Stogumber Browne QC, then Ambassador Delano Bart QC , Sylvester Anthony and Lord Goldsmith were all handsomely compensated for legal work for the Douglas led administration on various matters all geared towards assisting the former Douglas regime to maintain office.
Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris during the special press conference said “The last Parliament had become marred by illegal attempts to impose an Attorney General on the people and our country at the tail end of the debate on the Senators Bill. The Senators Bill was the heavy hand of the Leader, intent on achieving his way against the will of the elected majority…….
Our collective conscience cried out when the appointment of the Attorney General nullified by the Court in the day was resurrected by night by an obdurate and insensitive regime with no moral minimum, no sense of decency, no decorum.
The serial abuses of the sanctity and integrity of Parliament and by extension the electorate were at the egregious worst when the government used every ruse to delay the motion of no confidence. Every Parliamentary principle was violated to satisfy the megalomaniac propensity of the country’s misleader.
When we thought that it could not get worst under the ex regime, it took the bachanalization of the Parliament to an even lower plane when on January 16, 2015, it summoned an emergency sitting of the Parliament without proper notice to Opposition Members to foist Boundary Changes on the country.
Thankfully we in Team Unity went all the way to the Privy Council for justice. Four days before General Elections the Law Lords delivered the justice that the people of St Kitts and Nevis deserved.
That judgment convinced more decent persons to vote Team Unity. The cost of these transgressions against the Parliament since 2013, the Senators Bill, the Motion of No Confidence and the Boundaries case has been monetized at $5,914,080.89 paid further bills received of just over $2 million.”
In addition, investigations by the Attorney General’s Office found that the former Douglas led administration dished out some $49,079,173.08 in Legal Expenses in 2013 alone. $15,482,296.83 was dispensed in 2014 and then $1,079,677.15 in 2015. In 2010 some $4,889,218.95 was spent on legal fees by the government. In 2011 the figure was $2,360,920.04 and in 2012 some $4,073,812.70 was disbursed to satisfy legal fees.
It should be noted that despite the massive amounts of money spent the government lost almost every single case during that period 2009-2015.
The revelation by Dr. Harris comes on the heals of yet another stunning announcement made at his last press conference when he revealed that former Ambassador Delano Bart QC was paid upwards of $3 million by the SIDF between 2013 and 2014 .
In the April 29th Press Conference Dr. Harris outlined some of payments made to QC Bart as US $134,550; EC $1.79 Million; EC$126,389.25; EC$2,201,635.80; EC$1.61 Million; EC$ 351,000 and EC$ 315,900.
heels not heals!