BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – RON DUBLIN-COLLINS, President of the Evangelical Association (EA), said he would launch a “full investigation” into the fallout resulting from a press release disseminated by his organisation, the Christian Council (CC) and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CIC).
The Nov. 10 communiqué, excerpts of which were published on this website, warned that “boundary changes so close to the general election...may actually lead to instability”. PM Douglas and his ruling St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) subsequently lashed out against the statement and its authors, demanding that it be retracted “without delay”.
The SKNLP release alleged that high-ranking CIC members were in allegiance with opposition party the People’s Action Movement (PAM) and pointed to the Nov. 7 edition of radio station WINN FM’s “Inside the News” as evidence.
During Saturday’s programme, PAM Chairman Sidney Osborne read parts of the joint communiqué, three days before it was disseminated for public consumption.
Speaking exclusively to SKNVibes, Dublin-Collins expressed concern about the situation, noting it could “seriously damage the reputations” of the three organisations.
“The matter puts our integrity into question and may hurt the working relationship among our groups, not to mention the work that we are trying to do together,” said the Bishop. “The EA is working expediently to sort things out and we plan to launch a full investigation. Our executive is meeting today and we are hoping to meet with the CIC tomorrow to iron out the issue.”
Dublin-Collins declined to comment on the release’s origin; however, CC Chairman Rev. Isaiah Phillip was less guarded in his statements to the media.
According to an article by the SKNLP Secretariat, Phillip called the communiqué’s release “malicious. He also stressed that his organisation had not agreed to its dissemination.
“When I look at all the facts, I believe the release was malicious. I can confirm our three organisations are always in discussions on matters of national interest and importance, and we have been discussing issues to do with electoral reform and boundaries.
“We have not agreed on any statement. There are draft statements that were prepared, but we have not agreed on anything,” said Rev. Phillip.
SKNVibes contacted CIC President Mark Wilkin and CIC Executive Director, Wendy Phipps, who both refused to comment. This media house also spoke to Osborne, who said he had “nothing to say on the matter”.
