BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DESPITE media reports on the closure of SUN St. Kitts/Nevis, the independent daily newspaper is still in operation according to a company official.
Last Friday (Apr. 16), 50 employees of Sun Printing Publishing Company Ltd, 46 on Antigua and four from the St. Kitts and Nevis branch, received letters explaining that the company will be “unable to sustain operations in the immediate future” due to circumstances beyond the control of the current directors, Texas billionaire Allen Stanford’s fiancée Andrea Stoelker and Barbara Streete.
However, Managing Editor of the SUN Weekend and the SUN St. Kitts/Nevis Timothy Payne explained to SKNVibes that the decision was made pending discussions with staff and directors, which are expected to craft an appropriate resolution for the newspaper to continue operations. He said he is “very optimistic” that the discussions, to be held on Wednesday (Apr. 21), would bring good news to the ailing media outlet.
“The SUN has not been closed.... The staff decided they could not have the paper removed from the public, so they are willing to work...until this week’s negotiations. We are hopeful that following the meeting with the directors we will have a better idea of the way forward. We are working feverishly to make sure that the operations of Sun Weekend and Sun St. Kitts are maintained,” Payne explained in an exclusive interview with this media house.
The SUN official added that if discussions are fruitful, the staff will do its part in meeting any criteria that may be set down by the directors in order for the company to stay in operation. He stressed that the newspapers are important in creating a “newspaper culture” in the OECS and for educating people on current events in an independent manner.
While he was unwilling to disclose details of the threat of closure, he noted that the decision from the company directors came as a surprising twist.
“The way it has unfolded, it was kind of sudden. I would say there was an element of surprise to it.... I thought more would have been done to save the operations...[but] we definitely believe it can be fixed.”
Though details of the matter are sketchy at this time, media reports indicated that the closure letter signed by General-Manager Patrick Henry said the directors are currently seeking legal counsel “to explore possible options for a solution to our short and long term difficulties”.
SUN St. Kitts/Nevis has been in operation for about six years, but in late February 2009, when owner Stanford was arrested for allegedly orchestrating a Ponzi scheme, the operation of all his companies were threatened. Last month, the paper was not printed for a week because of financial constraints that rendered management unable to clear a shipment of paper from the port.
Payne said there is “a lot of goodwill” from the staff in both St. Kitts-Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda and he remains hopeful for a favourable outcome. Details of Wednesday’s negotiations will be made public at the earliest possible time and would determine the way forward for the struggling Stanford newspapers.
