On Thursday 6th August 2009 the leadership of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) in the persons of Mr. Lindsay Grant, Mr. Sidney Osborne and Mr. Eugene Hamilton conducted a press conference to discuss matters relating to dual citizenship as addressed in Section 28 of the Constitution of St. Kitts-Nevis and the financial problems faced at the British American Insurance Company in St. Kitts-Nevis.
It is important to note that the PAM candidate, Mr. Eugene Hamilton made no meaningful contribution to the press conference and allowed Mr. Grant, someone who had no direct bearing in the matter, to speak fully on his behalf. I would like to categorize this silence of Mr. Hamilton as a sign of further distancing himself from the policyholders and an admission of guilt of having been negligent in discharging his duties as a General Manager of the local branch of British American.
The Labour Party has not sought to smear Mr. Hamilton in this British American fiasco. Mr. Hamilton’s own actions and inactions continue to betray him as shirking the responsibilities that he undertook when he was hired as General Manager.
I was once a General Manager for a reputable insurance firm in this country. I worked in the industry for more than 21 years, and because of this I know that the responsibilities of the Branch Manager include specifically representing the interest of all policyholders to the Board of Directors, and at the quarterly and annual meetings of the group.
I do believe that Mr. Hamilton would have also received training that would allow him to provide such quality service to policyholders and investors. He then should know that a signed policy is good faith between the policyholder and the company and as the Branch Manager he is expected to demonstrate a level of accountability that cannot be passed on to Mr. Grant at a press conference.
The policyholders still need to hear from Mr. Hamilton in his capacity as the Branch Manager of British American and not from Eugene the politician, sitting dumbfounded at a PAM press conference. The policyholders need to hear him speak to the issues that are “bread and butter” to them. They need to hear information on the security of their investments and not political bantering and blame.
It is also worthy of note that after having this press conference for the sole purpose of laying blame and responsibility for the interest of the policyholders on the Prime Minister, page 3 of the Democrat for Saturday 8th August 2009 bears a story with the headline “PAM PUTS BRITISH AMERICAN… ISSUES TO REST”. This shows that Mr. Hamilton is uninterested in resolving a matter in which he is directly responsible to seek solutions but feels that the issues of the policyholders will be put to rest if the Prime Minister is blamed.
Why would PAM and Eugene seek to blame the Prime Minister when Dr. Douglas is not the General Manager of British American here in St. Kitts? From all accounts, the Prime Minister never promised 8% interest on investments made at British American. Dr. Douglas never received hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions on the sales of these policies; neither did he attend the million-dollar roundtable as a result of riding on the backs of the same policyholders. Therefore there is no greater obligation on the Prime Minister to account for the monies invested and policies insured than Eugene Hamilton of British American fame.
Indeed, Prime Minister Douglas himself has publicly called upon Mr. Hamilton to be forthright and honest with policyholders rather than hiding behind the Douglas led administration which so far has been working with regional institutions and governments to find a solution to this crisis.
Therefore it is time that Mr. Hamilton retracts the dastardly statements made at St. Peter’s on Thursday 16th July 2009 where he lied to the people by insisting that “the day the Government change is the day the problem solve.” Eugene needs to stop making sensational promises that he cannot deliver. He also needs to stop using the misfortune of his own policyholders to attempt to get into political office.
I see this comment as an attempt by Mr. Hamilton to barter action on his part for votes. There is implied that he knows what needs to be done and he has the ability to do it but he will not act until he has an opportunity to no longer bear legal and moral responsibility as General Manager.
So Eugene will continue to refuse to take calls from policyholders. Eugene will continue to stay away from his office or out of the country for as long as it is serves his personal purpose. Eugene will continue to avoid being accountable to the policyholders who have placed their long life savings in his hands at British American.
Speaking directly to you Mr. Hamilton, I wish to emphasize that policyholders are hurting. You have caused this to happen. They hunger and thirst for information and you refuse to be upfront with them and neglect to work with your regional counterparts to arrive at the desired solution. How many more of your policyholders, who trusted you and who gave you their retirement benefits and life savings, must continue to live a life of stress and uncertainty while you wallow in party politics?
Therefore I urge Mr. Grant, as a party leader, not to fall in the squalor of blame and call upon Mr. Hamilton to become accountable to the policyholders. Mr. Grant needs to reprimand Mr. Hamilton for refusing to meet with the Attorney General when asked to, in order to move forward a process of resolution. Failure to do this will implicate Mr. Grant as part of the incompetence of Eugene in the British American fiasco. The nation needs a sign of Mr. Grant’s understanding of the plight of the policyholders and annuities investors, which was so lacking when he declared that Eugene, in a PAM administration, will become the minister with responsibility for the multi-million dollar St. Kitts-Nevis Social Security Scheme.
Ultimately, If Eugene continues to evade the policyholder and refuses to be straight with the people, Mr. Grant should take the moral stand and ask him to stand down as PAM’s candidate to the people of Constituency #8.
It is noteworthy to remind Mr. Grant that the Blom-Cooper Commission Report had found Mr. Hamilton guilty of allowing the misuse of insurance funds and had declared that he should never be allowed to hold public office in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Government of St. Kitts-Nevis has taken steps towards working with regional leaders to bring relief in this financial crisis involving Eugene Hamilton. Already the government has pledged its support to a regional Fund to raise USD$80 Million to bailout British American. To date that Fund is being set up with donations from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and pledged donations from international donors and OECS Governments including St. Kitts and Nevis.
The government also awaits the official report from Ms. Lisa Taylor, the Judicial Manager appointed by the Court, on the request of its agency, to investigate the business operations of British American Insurance in St. Kitts and Nevis. There are similar reviews that are taking place in other OECS territories including Antigua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Until then, the government stands in solidarity with the policyholders and investors and pledges to do all that is possible to assist those affected. In the meantime, the people demand full accountability from the management of British American - and that is Eugene Hamilton who is not fit for private or public office.
