Senators Yet to See Signed MOU on TCN, Wehner Says

By Kisean Joseph

kisean.joseph@antiguaobserver.com

Ahead of today’s Senate debate on several bills, including the resolution on third-country nationals, an opposition senator said he and his colleagues have yet to receive a signed copy of the MOU underpinning the deal.

Senator Jonathan Wehner said senators received their debate packages yesterday, but without the memorandum of understanding or the draft operating procedures inside.

“The senators would have received their packages yesterday. There is no MOU in our packages. There are no draft operating procedures in our packages. So we are expected to just debate the resolution alone,” Wehner said.

He said there is a further complication, as the version of the MOU sent to the Lower House for last week’s debate was, according to him, unsigned by either side.

“The MOU that was sent by the government was not signed.  It was not signed by the representative for Antigua and Barbuda. It was not signed by the representative for the United States,” Wehner said.

He said without signatures on the document, there is no way to confirm the version debated in the House is the same one ultimately agreed between Antigua and Barbuda and the United States.

Wehner said opposition MPs were sent the MOU and draft operating procedures only the day before last week’s Lower House debate.