BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN an effort to remind those who were old enough at the time and to sensitise those who are unaware, especially the young, SKNVibes has decided to revisit the past to highlight what action the first Premier of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, the late Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, had taken in an issue of conflict of interest.
The conflict of interest issue had involved the then Hon. Ivan DeGrasse, Minister of Communications, Works, Utilities, Posts and Telegraph in the Bradshaw-led Administration.
Bradshaw had fired DeGrasse from his Cabinet because he had allegedly used the government’s office for his own interest.
The final chapter of this issue ended in the House of Assembly on March 24, 1973 when Premier Bradshaw made a statement in response to one made by DeGrasse in the Honourable House on December 20, 1972 under the item of business on the Order Paper entitled Personal Explanations.
In addressing the Speaker of the House, Bradshaw referred to DeGrasse’s statement, noting that “it is not for the want of tongue why cattle don’t speak” and that within his statement relating to a boat was “merely a transparent smokescreen behind which the Honourable Member has vainly tried to hide”.
Bradshaw emphatically stated that whilst returning from Jamaica on Monday, November 20, 1972, he and St. Clair ‘Ridopest’ Tobias had stopped over at St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands for a transfer in flight for their final leg to St. Kitts. However, while at the LIAT traffic counter, he met a US Immigration Officer of his acquaintance with whom he exchanged greetings.
“The officer remained near the counter, and after I had been booked in he addressed me in the presence of Mr. Tobias in this wise: ‘That Guyanese captain you all have up there came here yesterday to inspect a boat. He had neither passport nor anything; but he said he was travelling on government business, so we let him in.’
“I responded to that unexpected and unsolicited piece of information by saying, ‘I think that the captain’s passport is in Guyana for renewal.’ The conversation did not proceed much beyond there.”
Bradshaw explained that on arrival at the Golden Rock Airport later that morning, he enquired from the immigration desk whether the captain in question had in fact travelled to St. Thomas on the previous day, and he was answered in the affirmative.
“I was told yes, the captain had in fact travelled but that ‘he had no passport…only a seaman’s passport and a government document’,” Bradshaw told the House.
On reaching his office, the Premier said efforts were made to locate a copy of the government document but he was unsuccessful. However, around 1:00 p.m. that day, he was advised to enquire about the document from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, I.W. Walwyn, who gave him the following report:
“On Friday afternoon, 17th November, 1972, I received a telephone call from the Honourable Minister of Communications, Works, Utilities, Posts and Telegraph in which he informed me that he was sending the Master of the ferry “Liamuiga’ to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands on Sunday, 19th November, 1972 on Government business and that he would like a letter from the Ministry of External Affairs indicating the Master of the vessel, who is a Guyanese and who travels on a Guyanese Passport, is not in possession of the said Passport on account of the fact that the document is in Guyana for renewal.
“He further requested me to ask the Immigration Authorities of St. Thomas to facilitate the Master of the vessel in passing through Immigration formalities, having regard to the fact that the business would not keep the master of the vessel in St. Thomas later than the evening of Sunday 19th instant.
“I expressed my doubts as to whether the Airlines and Immigration Authorities would accept anything but a valid Passport, but the Honourable Minister assured me that they would.
“I exercised my discretion in the matter, as you were absent from the State, and I felt that it would be unreasonable for me to cause any undue delay in a matter which could be prejudicial to the functioning of the Government’s motor ferry.
“I asked the Honourable Minister for the name of the Master of the Vessel and prepared the letter accordingly. The letter was delivered to the Ministry of Communications, Works, Utilities, Posts and telegraph on the morning of Saturday, 18th November, 1972.”
Bradshaw also told the House that he was given a copy of the letter that the Permanent Secretary had written at the request of the Minister.
The letter, which was addressed to the Head of Immigration Department, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI, read, “Sir, Mr. Frank Hutchins, the Captain of the Government ferry boat, M.V. ‘Liamuiga’, will travel to St. Thomas from St. Kitts on Sunday 19th November, returning to St. Kitts on the same day.
“Mr. Hutchins is a native of Guyana and he travels on a Guyanese Passport which is now in Guyana for renewal.
“The Government of the State of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla would be very grateful if you could facilitate Mr. Hutchins in any manner possible and assist him in passing through the necessary immigration formalities.”
Bradshaw noted that on November 20, 1972 he had informed Minister DeGrasse by means of a minute of the complaint and the information he gained from the Permanent Secretary, within which he stated, “As this Government does not have a boat in St. Thomas, may I please be given a full report and explanation of this matter urgently, especially as the circumstances seem to suggest the making of an apology to the Government of the United States Virgin Islands whose many courtesies to us ought never to be abused.”
On the afternoon of the following day, Bradshaw added, he was advised by the Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Communications that Minister DeGrasse went into her office, tossed the minute onto her desk and said, “Tell him, the Premier, that I will not answer him. What is he asking me?”
The Premier alleged that later in the same week he was informed that one of DeGrasse’s Ministerial colleagues and his wife had advised him on November 24, 1972 to reply to the minute, but he said that “he would think of it”.
He also noted that the Attorney-General informed him that DeGrasse had visited him on the matter, and although he was advised to reply, he refused.
“Further, Mr. Speaker, Bradshaw said, “the then Minister visited Nevis on or about 22nd November, 1972, where, inter alia, he mentioned my minute in question to the Honourable Member for Gingerland – who’d known nothing about it before then – and told him that he had come to Nevis purposely to avoid me, as he felt I was awaiting a reply from him to that minute.
“The Honourable member therefore knowingly lied to this Honourable House when on 20th December, 1972 he told it that he had overlooked replying to the Premier’s minute. The facts I have outlined, so far, clearly show not only that he had no intention of replying to the minute but that he had declared that said intention – of not replying – to at least two persons.”
Bradshaw told the Speaker that after six days patiently waiting for a reply from DeGrasse, he went to “Government House and advised His Excellency to direct that the Ministerial position comprised in the Ministry of Communications, Works, Utilities, Posts and Telegraph be declared vacant. The Governor accepted my advice and, later that day, handed the then Honourable Minister a letter to that effect…”
Paragraph Four of that letter read: “In tendering his advice, aforesaid, the Premier represented that you had failed to supply him with the ‘full report and explanation’, on 20th instant concerning the sending of the captain of the ferry ‘Liamuiga’, (Mr. Frank Hutchins) to the island of St. Thomas, USVI, last Sunday, 19th instant, to inspect a vessel of some description, the visit having been reported to the Premier, at St. Thomas, in the morning of 20th instant by the Immigration Authorities there, to the effect that Captain Hutchins had arrived in St. Thomas without his passport and had represented that he was travelling on business of this Government. Upon investigation, the Premier found the representation of Captain Hutchins to be untrue because the captain had travelled to St. Thomas on private business of your own.”
Bradshaw also highlighted a number of events that occurred prior to the boat issue.
He told the Speaker that on October 31, 1972, DeGrasse had attended a conference in Antigua on air routes between the British, Dutch and the Netherlands Antilles Governments and those of all, or certain of, the Governments of the Associated States. But instead of returning home after the conference, he went to St. Thomas on November 4 on his own business and returned to St. Kitts the day before the Premier was due to be back from the Statehood celebrations of Dominica.
The Premier stated that DeGrasse did not tell him about the visit, but on November 5, 1972 he learnt that the Minister had voiced it abroad that he went to St. Thomas to purchase a boat for himself. And that he had discussed the intended ownership of the boat with the Deputy Premier and the Minister of Finance, who both advised him to make his intention known to the Premier.
Bradshaw also stated that during the said month he learnt that DeGrasse had tried to get Captain Hutchins and the Industrial Adviser, Mr. Oldham, to St. Thomas to inspect the boat, but that attempt failed because no application was made for the release of the latter and the former’s passport was in Guyana.
He further stated that later in the said month he learnt that DeGrasse had visited the Registrar concerning the formation of a private company which would own boats and airplanes. Therefore, his attempt in seeking to secure a boat was not in the interest of the government, but that of himself; an act “which, if he did above board, none could quarrel with. But he used subterfuge instead, by which to send Captain Hutchins, a public service technician, whose salary is made up of payments made by this government and Her Majesty’s government at Westminster, to St. Thomas to inspect a vessel which he had himself seen, and which he was privately interested”.
Conclusively, from all indications, DeGrasse’s misconduct had lent credence to Premier Bradshaw’s decision of firing him as a Minister of Government. His Ministerial Office was declared vacant some four months to the day when Bradshaw presented his argument to the Speaker of the House.
Evidence presented by Bradshaw also pointed to DeGrasse lying to the House on December 20, 1972 that he did not know the reason for him being sacked from the Labour Party Cabinet, and that it was his idea to increase the number of vessels in the St. Kitts-Nevis Ferry Service.
Bradshaw however explained that following the Christina disaster in August 1970, there was need for two vessels to ply that route and the idea had originated from the previous government. He further explained that a survey of the Ferry Service was done by the Overseas Development Administration of Britain at the request of his administration and it was recommended that two vessels be used. But Britain did not adopt the recommendation and his government could not have afforded the cost for another vessel.
Knowing this, he insinuated that DeGrasse attempted to go over his head and those of his fellow Ministers to acquire a vessel for his own selfish gains, which was a sign of defiance and disrespect for the Premier’s Office.
Bradshaw’s investigation revealed that the boat, a 4 000-tonner named Blue Seas, had lost its licences of seaworthiness and its registry and general ship purposes had expired since 1971. He also revealed that, at that time, the vessel was without a crew and was anchored for some two years in the channel between Water Island and St. Thomas’ mainland.
In his summation, Premier Bradshaw said, “Mr. Speaker, this Honourable House is the highest Court in the land. Lying before a Court is held to be an offence called perjury. The most recent case of lying before Parliament is the Profumo one. The Honourable Member for St. Anne-west, St. Paul and St. John has, by lying before this Honourable House and by using his public office for his personal purposes, shown himself to be unfit to be one of the Honourable Members of this Honourable House of Assembly and he should therefore be ashamed of himself.”
The action taken by the late Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw should certainly been written in the annals of St. Kitts and Nevis as one made by a man who did not condone acts of corruption and truly believed in the practice of democracy.
Numerous efforts were made via telephone and email to get Ivan DeGrasse to comment on this historical issue, but they were futile.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S NOTE: The information in this article was garnered from a document headlined “Statement by the Premier, Honourable R.L. Bradshaw, J.P., M.P., to the House of Assembly on 24th March, 1973”, and printed at the Government Printery in St. Kitts.
