BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SOCIAL ACTIVIST Dwyer Astaphan has accused the Government of National Unity of moving at a snail’s pace in its promise to investigate areas of impropriety allegedly perpetrated by the former Administration.
The Operation Future member made the accusation on Saturday (Feb. 13) while hosting WINN FM’s weekly ‘Inside the News’ programme.
“Other than what we hear about the investigation into the Electoral Office, I don’t know of any other active investigations that are undergoing. It is quite possible, I am not saying probable or even factual, that had these investigations been not only done, commenced but completed, certain individuals might have been cited in those investigations as actors in things that were not in the best interest of the Government,” Astaphan said.
He asserted that while in opposition, the tri-party Team Unity had promised to launch a number of investigations, including the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF).
“The Team Unity Government said they were going to bring the SIDF under the scrutiny of the Parliament…it’s been a year. These things should be priority because they did say and they did adopt the position that the present arrangement with the SIDF being outside of the constitutional network was in contravention of the Constitution. We have not seen any signs of investigation into SKIPA or the Small Enterprise Assistance Fund.
“We have not seen any information with regard to investigations into La Valley, into White Gate and into a number of other things. We cannot see up to date Social Security Financial Statements. You have people who were in positions before under the former dispensation in key positions, people who were close to the former leadership, whose behaviour, that is the former leadership’s behaviour, which was seriously and repeatedly complained about by the Team Unity leadership. But those people, some of those people, are still in those same positions under the different leadership and so you have to ask what has changed.”
The former National Security Minister under the Douglas-led Administration lamented that the Government could be jeopardised by delaying the start of those investigations.
He proffered the view that if the investigations were completed criminal charges might have been preferred against some individuals.
“If a proper and comprehensive audit and investigation was done or is done, people will face, at best some people, civil action and others will face criminal action. And the Government needs to clean the slate, bring the information to the public.”
Astaphan said the investigations are high priority just as much as national security and creating jobs, “because if you have the operations of the Government compromised, the security and efficacy of the Government are also compromised”.
