Basseterre, St.Kitts (Team UNITY Communications) -- The failure of the councillors of the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) to cause the production of timely audited financial statements is enough justification for the entire Board of Councillors to resign. For the councillors to be producing audited financial statements for 2011 some two (2) years late, is a clear indication of a lack of accountability on their part in keeping with the cavalier approach to governance of the Minister of Finance and Prime Minister, to whom they report.
“They are two (2) years late and not a word of explanation or apology from them. They hid the accounts from us for two (2) years and because they do not understand their role and the onus of accountability on them, when it comes to the hundreds of millions of dollars received by the SIDF from transactions involving the sale of our citizenship and passports, they have refused to explain why they are so late in presenting their accounts,” said Leader of Team Unity, Dr the Hon Timothy Harris.
The Unity Leader said, “SIDF is considered a Slush Fund acting on the dictates of an illegitimate Prime Minister. It seems that it has no mandate other than to do what Douglas wants. Therefore, a Foundation set up to help former sugar workers, has failed former sugar workers by an absence of projects that have manifestly transformed their lives. Here is a SIDF, which we are told by Minister Skerritt, has become a development bank.
It is a lender of last resort, we are told. Where could it ever be contemplated that we will set up a Foundation to compete with commercial banks and be a development bank? Has the SIDF been operating as a Bank without a license, and without oversight of the Central Bank? Is it subject to the Regulatory Unit or it answers to no law save the directives of our illegitimate, Prime Minister? Does the IMF have a view on SIDF? Does IMF support the untimely rendering of audited financial statement? Does the IMF support the government’s position that SIDF is a development bank? Has IMF investigated the SIDF’s impact on the commercial banking sector?
The financial statements indicate to us that there is no transparency. It converts loans into grants at a whim after the fact and the criteria for doing these conversions are not made known to the public. It takes equity interest in companies, which cannot find strategic private partner(s), or banker(s) willing to support their projects and while that is happening there is no help for our small businesses. Many of our mechanics, our busmen, our taxi men, our small businesses get a run around rather than meaningful help.
We have a conflict of interest and the appearance of impropriety when the Cabinet Secretary serves as a paid councillor on SIDF. The same SIDF provides a substantial loan to Kittitian Hill, Belmont Estate and the same Cabinet Secretary Joseph Edmeade sits on the Board of Kittitian Hill Resorts/ Belmont Estate. Whose interests are directors truly representing when they are double and triple dipping in terms of Board Membership?
And we question the propriety of the Cabinet Secretary being paid director of companies especially these like The Cable, Kittitian Hill/Belmont Estates, SIDF that have ongoing matters before the Cabinet.
This is the problem of poor governance and lack of accountability and transparency, which Team Unity must resolve for the betterment of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.
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