Caribbean journalist questions PM Harris silence on COVID-19 and Lindsay Grant and Jonel Powell’s misappropriation

A regional communications consultant is of the view that the inexplicable silence” of St Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris on the misappropriation of US$460,000 by a Cabinet minister and the global pandemic “is inconsistent with the requirements of the Office and the dictates of leadership, especially in times of crisis.”

Tony Deyal, who says he pays close attention to Caribbean countries especially when elections are near, noted that in St Kitts and Nevis “it is apparent that the shaky bridge built by Prime Minister Harris and Team Unity is breaking down and is due for a plunge into the deep sea that surrounds the islands.”

“His lack of reaction to Covid-19 and any communication on it as well as his unwillingness to deal with the issue of his Minister of Tourism being charged for misappropriating US$460,000 from a client, further hastens the breakup of his hastily put together coalition,” said Deyal in a FaceBook posting on Sunday.

In urging Dr Harris to walk the talk, Deyal noted that neither the Prime Minister nor the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has taken any action even though almost three weeks have passed since Lindsay Grant, Minister of Tourism and former Leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM), was found guilty of misappropriating US$460,000.00 from a former client.

Stating that the Prime Minister’s silence on Covid-19 and the Grant issue are as inexplicable as they are inconsistent with the requirements of the Office and the dictates of leadership, especially in times of crisis, Deyal pointed out that Covid-19 is a pandemic and global killer that demands action from all countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) expects Governments to take charge.

“This is not happening in St Kitts and Nevis (SKN) even though the Prime Ministers of all the other Caribbean countries took direct command from the first signs of the problem and have continued, some on a daily basis, to demonstrate who’s in charge,” said Deyal.

He said the Grant issue is also of considerable importance to governance in St Kitts and Nevus and will further lower its status as a regional leader.

“The Prime Minister should have immediately fired Grant from his Cabinet and still has not done so without giving any reason for his actions or lack of them. In the meantime, DPP, Valston Graham, a citizen of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who can vote in St Kitts and Nevis’ elections, was present, front and center, at a political event held by the PAM leader, Shawn Richards on the 25th August, 2018,” said Deyal, who further noted that when DPP Graham was appointed to Office, he promised that “the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution will discharge their duties in a professional manner which is guided by fairness in the manner in which we conduct our duties.”

“Clearly, he has seen the writing on the Election wall and is hoping that by breaking the rules of neutrality, non-interference and non-participation in politics, he will be retained as DPP after the next election due for the latest on August 15th 2020. He is also betting, wrongly as the internal polls show, on who will be the next Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis. Others are not as cocksure as Graham about their choice,” Deyal opined