BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SENATOR Nigel Carty has admitted that his decision to help in the transcription of audiotapes of a meeting of the Constituency Boundaries Commission (CBC) was not the most appropriate way to resolve the situation.
Speaking on Saturday’s (Dec. 5) edition of radio station WINN FM’s “Inside the News”, the Junior Minister said that further deliberation should have been made on the matter.
“I did about 30 minutes worth of the transcripts out of the two hours and 19 minutes. I sent that to the secretary who looked at it and made some modifications and signed off on it.
“Maybe, on further reflection, one could have thought of a better strategy considering the commitment that [government lawyers] had made to the court. Perhaps, on reflection, I must admit there could have been another solution to the problem,” Carty acknowledged.
The government and lawyers representing opposition politicians Hon. Mark Brantley and Hon. Shawn Richards are currently embroiled in a judicial review hearing against the work of the Commission. During proceedings, the opposition’s legal team was successful in obtaining the written minutes of each CBC meeting and had asked for the audio recordings as well.
Government counsel agreed on Thursday (Dec. 3) to submit transcripts of the Commission’s November 11 meeting by 7:00 p.m. on that day. When court resumed on Friday (Dec. 4), it was revealed that Carty, with the help of Registry staff, had assisted in transcribing the audio.
The move drew reproach from presiding judge Francis Belle, who called the move “totally wrong” and stressed the need for separation of powers, especially in sensitive cases that involve the government.
Carty made his case on Saturday’s programme, arguing that the time given to government lawyers had been insufficient to provide an accurate transcription. He also revealed that the suggestion for him to help in the process had been his own idea.
“When the lawyers said they had to have the transcripts handed to the opposite side by seven that evening, I said that was ludicrous. You’re taking a tape of a two-hour-19-minute meeting, and that’s going to take time. So I recommended that there be a division of the responsibility so we could get it done in the time. That recommendation was taken on board.
“It was segmented so the secretary [Gail Cranstoun] would take responsibility for some, the members of the Registry in the court would take responsibility for some, and I would take responsibility for some. That whole exercise was completed at 10:24 p.m.; imagine if one person had had to do all that,” he explained.
The Senator drew reference to a situation involving Chesley Hamilton, National Spokesman for opposition party the People’s Action Movement, to highlight how he thought such matters should be handled.
“When Hamilton made the transcript of a Parliament meeting where he was not in attendance, the issue wasn’t who transcribed it. The issue always is who verified it? The CBC Secretary had leave to verify the accuracies of the transcript and she did so.”
“I suppose one could have called the judge and said this is not going to be possible; could you please give us more time? But at the end of the day, I believe the core of this is who has the responsibility to verify, and has that person verified?” Carty added.
Court proceedings resume next Monday (Dec. 14) in the contentious legal battle with government lawyers set to make their arguments regarding the opposition’s application for full disclosure of audiotapes and transcripts of all CBC meetings.
They will also make their case for the recusal of Justice Belle, who imposed an injunction against the CBC and its report on Monday (Dec. 7).
