Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 18, 2009 (Labour Secretariat) - The St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce is yet to explain the discrepancies surrounding the dissemination of two press releases. One on November 6, which was only passed to the Chairman of The People’s Action Movement (PAM), Sydney Osbourne, and the other to the media on November 10.
Both press releases are said to be joint statements of The St. Kitts Christian Council (CC), The St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CIC) and The St. Kitts Evangelical Council (EA).
However, the three Non-Governmental Organizations have all said that they have not agreed on any statement or press release for dissemination to the wider public.
“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,” Chairman of the CC, Rev. Isaiah Phillip, explained at a press conference on November 16 hosted by the three NGO’s to try and explain the breach.
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.
The tripartite group said that there was no statement or press release agreed upon after the meeting with Prime Minister Douglas. They also said that they had put an embargo on the press statement that they had approved for immediate release before their meeting with the Prime Minister.
President of the EA, Bishop Ron-Dublin Collins, said that all their discussions were ongoing, non-conclusive and that a final position had not been taken on the matters pertaining to constituency boundaries changes and a code of conduct for the political process.
If all of this is true, it begs the questions:
Why was a press release sent out electronically from the headquarters of the CIC on November 10 when there was no final agreement or position taken on the matters under discussion?
Who was responsible for sending it out?
Why did the press release sent out to the media not reflect the changes that were made after the meeting with the Prime Minister?
Who drafted the press release?
Why no signatures were affixed suggesting that it was agreed upon and ready for dissemination?
Reliable reports suggest that the press release of Friday November 6 was given to Mr. Osbourne by an executive member of the CIC, a staunch supporter of the PAM.
The CIC needs to come clean and answer several questions.
