Montserrat Opposition Seeks No-Confidence Motion on Premier

Above: Montserrat

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Montserrat will soon debate a no-confidence motion against Premier Reuben Meade’s administration filed by Opposition Leader Donaldson Romeo.

Romeo, who filed the request for No Confidence last week, referenced several recent decisions by Meade’s administration, including the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, recent import tariff increase and Meade’s declaration in Ecuador that Montserrat should no longer be considered by international organizations as a colonized country.

He said the decisions reflected a “pattern of government decisions made behind closed doors, without adequate consultation with the people who have to live with the results of such decisions.”

The new tariff abolished the island’s service tax, leaving a duty and consumption tax on more than 6,000 items.

Meade’s statement came on May 30th in Ecuador to the UN Committee on Decolonization; at the time, he said he was “certain” that the United Kingdom “supports our stance.”

The opposition will file the motion of no confidence in the next sitting of the Legislative Assembly, which is scheduled for June 26.

Meade told the UN that the people of Montserrat saw themselves as part of the UK family by choice, and recommended that it be removed from the UN’s list of “non self-governing colonies.”

Montserrat Govenor Adrian Davis said last week that the United Kingdom’s government does not have to authorize statements made by the government of Montserrat.

“We would not expect in general that statements made by the government of Montserrat would be cleared with the UK government,” he said.