BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FORMER People’s Action Movement (PAM) candidate for Central Basseterre, Roy Angus Fleming is calling on Co-Deputy Leaders Eugene Hamilton and Shawn Richards to publicly state their position on the Marriott Bribery Scandal involving the party’s Leader, Lindsay Fitzpatrick Grant.
In an exclusive interview, Fleming told SKNVibes that the party’s two parliamentarians’ failure to disclose their stance on the matter might be perceived as giving approval or consent to Grant’s actions as seen on the You-Tube video.
Fleming indicated that former PAM’s Leader and past Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Sir Kennedy Simmonds publicly declared his support for Grant, and he [Fleming] is of the view that Grant’s involvement at the Marriott should be carefully scrutinised by the public.
“Anyone viewing Mr. Grant’s behaviour and listening to his discussions about offering to sell our lands below market value to a foreigner in exchange for US$1.7M, to be sent to offshore accounts, cannot come to any other conclusion but that of corrupt activity to the highest degree.
“Persons aspiring to hold public office, especially that of Prime Minister, must be held to a high standard of integrity and, as such, should be carefully scrutinised by the public at large and the electorate in particular,” Fleming opined.
He also noted that Grant’s recent utterances about continuing to lead are “neither here nor there as persons have lost all credibility and confidence in him as leader of PAM”.
“It is just political rhetoric coming from a failed leader,” Fleming said. “Like the many hundreds of PAM supporters throughout the country who would like Mr. Grant to step down, I will also continue to make that call. In absence of this, our party will continue to lose support and will continue to be perceived as one which endorses political corruption,” he added.
Fleming’s pronouncements follow in the wake of a letter signed by himself, Glenroy Blanchette, Bernard Welsh, Junie Hodge and Ronald Williams calling on Grant to immediately step down as Leader of the PAM.
The letter was addressed to the party’s Chairman, Sidney Osborne, and it listed six reasons why Grant should step down, claiming that he erred in judgment during the January 25, 2010 General Election.
“We, the undersigned candidates of the People’s Action Movement, hereby write to express our deep concern for the party which we all love. We have become concerned about the sentiments of a vast number of PAM supporters who believe that Mr. Grant should step down as Political Leader. His errors in judgment during the 2010 General Election have significantly hurt the party,” the letter states.
The candidates stated that the following issues are the reasons why he should “step down immediately”:
1. The bribery scandal at the Marriott hotel. This scandal damaged the party’s chances at the polls;
2. The lack of transparency and accountability with campaign finances;
3. Mr. Grant’s disappearing act after the General Elections and his failure to provide leadership to the thousands of supporters who put their lives and jobs on the line for the party;
4. The decision to postpone the National Annual Convention and Caucus was unconstitutional;
5. The exclusion of candidates from the decision-making process re: party affairs; and
6. His poor leadership during the 2010 General Election campaign.
Since then, Grant was re-elected the party’s Political Leader and, in a past interview, he told this media house that he was thankful for the opportunity to continue serving as party leader, saying it was a sign of the membership’s “trust and confidence” in him.
“The fact that I ran unopposed was a sign of the overwhelming support I have from the rank-and-file to lead the party. In my presentation as political leader, I addressed the letter sent to me by the five candidates point-by-point. I am confident the rank-and-file understood my position, and I believe the matter was resolved unequivocally and satisfactorily,” Grant said.
