DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE AT WORK WITH TWENTY-FIVE NEW LAWS PASSED IN ST. KITTS AND NEVIS IN JUST OVER TWELVE MONTHS

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, October 31, 2023 (SKNIS) – In a little over one year since the opening of the Parliamentary session, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew-led administration has debated and successfully passed twenty-five (25) new laws for the benefit of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.

A total of thirty-two (32) Bills, touching every sector of development in the Federation, were tabled in the National Assembly since the opening of Parliament on Tuesday, October 25, 2022—twenty-five of which were passed into law.

Commenting on this momentous accomplishment, Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew thanked Attorney General the Honourable Garth Wilkin and his team for their efforts in this regard, noting that, “This has been a part of a government that has been working and working tremendously hard on behalf of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.”

While all twenty-five Bills passed into law are critically important to the transformation of St. Kitts and Nevis into a Sustainable Island State, Prime Minister Dr. Drew said there are some that stand above the rest such as the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

“We made it possible for those who suffer domestic violence to not have to go to the High Court anymore. A Magistrate’s Court can be called on to provide protection from domestic violence, and as a result, I am almost certain that a number of our citizens would have been saved. If we remember last year between August and September, there were a number of domestic issues that resulted in death, and therefore it was necessary to do that as part of creating our Sustainable Island State and seeking to make sure that the most vulnerable are protected,” said Dr. Drew at the closing of the Monday, October 30, 2023 Sitting of the National Assembly.

Additionally, Prime Minister Drew said he is also pleased with the passage of the Rastafari Rights Recognition Bill, 2023, and the Freedom of Conscience (Cannabis) Bill, 2023.

He said, “Our bill to deal with Rastafarians and giving them the opportunity to practice their faith as they see fit of course based on their principles, that was also landmark.”

Other significant pieces of legislation that were debated and passed in the National Assembly within the last year include the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders), (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Smoking (Designated Area) Bill, 2023, the Nevis Island Administration (Civil Proceedings) Bill, 2023, the Crown Proceedings (Amendment) Bill, 2023, as well as the Consumer Protection Bill, 2023, that was passed on Monday, October 30, 2023.

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