Basseterre (November 17, 2009) ---The St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CIC) has confirmed that the leak of a press release to the Chairman of the People’s Action Movement (PAM), Sydney Osbourne, was committed by a member of the CIC, but did not disclose the name of the member.

According to reliable reports, the press release was passed to Mr. Osbourne by an executive   member of the CIC, who is a strong supporter of the PAM. 

What is quite significant is that the Chairman of The Opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM), Mr. Sydney Osbourne, read a copy of the press release on Inside the News on Saturday November 7, prior to it being released to the press on November 10.

A press conference between the three NGO’s, the CIC, The St. Kitts Christian Council (CC) and The St. Kitts Evangelical Association (EA) was held on November 17 in an attempt to explain the imbroglio.

 Speaking at the press conference, Executive Director of the CIC, Wendy C. Phipps, brushed aside naming the CIC member who leaked the press release, saying that at this stage it was “immaterial”.

President of the EA referred to the leak of the press release as a communication glitch.

“We have experienced some communication glitches and this has been as a result of systems and mechanisms that we had not implemented at the time (which) resulted in the release of documents that were still under discussion”.

Days prior to the press conference, Chairman of the CC, Fr. Isaiah Phillip, said “well, I was told by email that a draft that had been prepared for discussion was released to someone. I don’t know the details of it. I have heard that it was read, but I want to reiterate that we have no agreement and no statement to release”.

Fr. Isaiah had also referred to the passing of the press release to a third party as “malicious” , a statement which he retracted at the press conference, saying that he had “over spoke” to the press. 

Fr. Isaiah, who was the chief spokesman at the press conference, gave an explanation of the leak of the press release.
“We had prepared a statement for immediate release on Friday (Nov. 6). After meeting with PM Douglas, we realized that there were certain things that needed to be changed. We instructed those on the committee to put a hold on the release, but unfortunately, the CIC member who gave the communiqué to Mr. Osbourne was unaware of this development,” Rev. Phillip explained.

But many questions remain.

Why is the Chairman of PAM, the only member of the public to receive a copy of a press release that was initially agreed upon for immediate release?

Why should the credibility of Fr. Phillip be sacrificed to absolve the CIC of any wrongdoing?

Why would three credible organizations not have in place systems and mechanisms to avoid such mishaps?

Why would only some CIC members be told to put a hold on the release, while others were not informed?

Yet, in the face of all of this, there is still no press release from the three organizations that have been approved for release. 
The contents of the press release speak about (1) a code of conduct for the political process, (2) concerns about the review of electoral boundaries prior to the next General Election, and (3) instability that the signatories predict for the nation should boundaries be changed.  It also explained that it was a joint statement by the St. Kitts Evangelical Association, The St. Kitts Christian Council, and the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce.