Photographer asks "Who's next?"
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – OVER the past five days, the hottest topic in the twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is the dismantling of the Ministry of National Security and its Minister’s, the Hon. Sam Condor, loss of responsibility for the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force and the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force.
Many individuals, including opposition politicians and renowned members of society, are of the firm view that Deputy Prime Minister Condor was unaware of the decision made by Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas to reshuffle his Cabinet and that it was done to fortify Astona Browne’s position, who Condor allegedly said he did not want as his Permanent Secretary.
Dr. Douglas however debunked the statements and accusations and, while addressing the issue in Parliament on Friday (Sept. 2), said Minister Condor and all members of the Executive knew that he was going to dismantle the Ministry of National Security.
“…So this nonsense that is being pedalled out there that some members of the Cabinet ain’t know what is going…is absolute nonsense, deliberately malicious in making those statements. Am I a crazy man just to get up one morning and change portfolios? Every single member of the Cabinet knew that this was being contemplated…the Executive I should say.
“And the Department of Legal knows…and it was on Monday that the final council was put in place in a meeting and it was eventually exercised on Wednesday when I made the final announcement. So, here we have the opposition trying to create mischief, and those out there who were on this side fighting crime and who failed, out there writing on the internet all kinds of nonsense!” PM Douglas said.
On Wednesday (Aug. 31) during a broadcast to the nation on ZIZ Television and Radio, Dr. Douglas announced that Condor, who for just over 19 months headed the Ministry of National Security, was stripped of his responsibilities of the Police and Defence Forces.
Dr. Douglas declared that acting on his advice and keeping with the Constitution, the Governor-General had assigned the Police and Defence Forces to him.
He noted that Condor would continue to hold all of his other portfolios in a restructured Ministry, restyled the Ministry of Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, Labour and Social Security, and that the Department of Home Land Security would include Immigration, Passports, Prisons, Fire & Rescue Services and the National Emergency Management Agency.
The PM said he had decided to establish a Ministerial Task Force that would comprised of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Attorney-General, the Minister of Works and himself as Chairman to provide general oversight and policy guidance in relation to all crime fighting activities in the Federation.
“This Task Force,” he said, “will ensure that the security forces are provided the resources that they require to effectively fight crime and will monitor the implementation of a comprehensive crime reduction plan that we intend to publish shortly.”
He also said a Special Anti-Crime Unit would be established and it would fall under his purview.
He further said that the Parliamentary Select Committee on Crime and Violence, which was proposed by Minister Condor and passed in the National Assembly on Friday (Sept. 2), would be chaired by the Attorney-General, the Hon. Patrice Nisbett.
Other members of the Committee are Minister Condor; Minister responsible for Community Development, the Hon. Marcella Liburd; Leader of the Opposition the Hon. Mark Brantley and one other member of the opposition.
While it was noted that last year Dr. Douglas said “the government is not responsible for crime”, he has however recently declared that the buck stops at him and that many people had been calling upon him to take charge, and that is what he did.
The PM’s announcement of Condor’s reduction in responsibilities came less than two hours after he had made a very passionate speech as Minister of National Security at the Passing of the Baton Ceremony, where he bid farewell to Commissioner Austin Williams and welcomed Celvin ‘CG’ Walwyn as the new Commissioner.
Many individuals believe that Condor had no prior knowledge of the changes and are questioning, if he had known, “how much did he know”?
Opposition Leader Brantley welcomed the PM’s remarks but noted that Dr. Douglas had finally accepted that the buck stops at him.
He added that this new position of responsibility and accountability is truly welcomed, but was also quick to point out that Dr. Douglas had failed on two occasions as the Minister of National Security.
“The nation would however recall that Prime Minister Denzil Douglas has on two prior occasions functioned as Minister having responsibility for National Security. On both occasions his leadership was ineffective and the country saw a progressively worsening security situation.”
Brantley stated that the Opposition is high in praise of the Hon. Sam Condor, who was recently stripped of his Police and Defence Forces portfolio, for bringing a new approach of consensus building to the critical issue of national security and his willingness to cooperate with the Opposition and civil society to fashion solutions to the issue of crime and violence.
He also explained the reason for praising Condor, while at the same time made a comparative analysis of leadership styles between PM Douglas and his Deputy.
“Recent Parliamentary initiatives of Minister Condor, such as the Interception of Communications Act and the Gang (Prohibition and Prevention) Act 2011, have attracted the support of the Opposition, largely due to his demonstrated willingness to work across party lines to win this war on crime.
“This atmosphere of bipartisanship was a welcome departure from the aggression, combativeness and rancour normally associated with matters of state and which have been the hallmarks of the leadership style of Prime Minister Douglas,” he said.
Parliamentary Representative of Constituency Number Five, the Hon. Shawn Richards also accused Dr. Douglas of being a failure while heading the Ministry of National Security.
He noted that Dr. Douglas had admitted that he has a troubled Ministry of Finance to cope with and is so unequal to the task that he needs the IMF’s assistance.
“He has now added these two large areas of responsibility to his burdens. This, coupled with his spectacular failure when he held the responsibility of National Security prior, utterly defies logic and further retards any progress in this area,” Richards said.
Speaking on WINN FM’s ‘Inside the News’ programme on Saturday (Sept. 3), Richards intimated that Condor’s absence in Parliament on Thursday and Friday was indicative of his displeasure with the changes made by Dr. Douglas.
And on the same programme, former National Security Minister Dwyer Astaphan said he was convinced that the changes were made by Dr. Douglas to further marginalise Condor.
He noted in a commentary that “Denzil’s move is a vindictive, callous and brutal attack on Sam”.
“This buck-stopping-with-him story I found curious, because he had never before accepted responsibility for anything negative that had happened under his stewardship. Was his announcement last night, therefore, a signal that he has changed and is finally ready to accept responsibility, or is he setting up somebody yet again to be his fall guy?” Astaphan added.
In his explanation for his belief of Dr. Douglas’ attack on Condor, Astaphan referred to a past meeting held with a late Caribbean leader on the issue of Dr. Douglas’ leadership style and also the Minister’s alleged rejection to his Permanent Secretary.
“Some years ago, Sam (Timothy and I) had expressed some concerns about his leadership. Several retreats were held, all to no avail. Finally, a meeting was held at the Marriott, with then Barbados Prime Minister, the late David Thompson, brought in by Hartley Henry to help sort out matters.
“That infuriated Denzil. And all three of us had to be dealt with, as well as Sam’s wife, Jeanne. That’s the fate that all who question and stand up to Denzil must suffer. We were referred to by him as the ‘Gang of Four’. And in short time the vicious personal attacks in the social media and elsewhere began.
“What made things worse for Sam was the stand that he took at the Labour Party Conference in May of this year. Then on top of all of that he had the gall to tell Denzil that he did not want Mrs. Astona Browne as his Permanent Secretary. Sam had committed grievous sins against the Maximum Leader and he had to be embarrassed and punished.
“In my opinion, if Sam takes this, he is done. Likewise for Tim. Denzil wants to show them up as being impotent. He wants to make sure that they are completely emasculated, eviscerated and obliterated politically.”
Educator, historian and social activist Washington ‘Washie’ Archibald also flung scathing remarks at PM Douglas.
He said, “I am appalled at the way in which the crime part of Sam Condor’s ministry was unceremoniously taken from him and transferred back to the Prime Minister. I don’t believe the Prime Minister has done this in the interest of national security. I believe he has done this in the interest of himself, of the Permanent Secretary who Sam Condor protested against and the new Commissioner of Police."
Archibald also believes that Condor was unaware of Dr. Douglas’ intention.
“I believe that this is a serious slap in the face and people who listened to him would realise that he was not aware of what was taking place. Mr. Condor was not aware that the Prime Minister was planning to reposition him and take away from him the Ministry of National Security. I understand from reliable sources that Mr. Condor was not aware that his portfolio would be redistributed and, if that is true, I think that that is a slap in the face of a Senior Minister by the Prime Minister and I believe that this is a travesty of democracy.”
He said that many people had been calling on the PM to take responsibility for crime because it is the duty of all government to protect the citizenry, and not for him to take over the Ministry of National Security.
“What the people have been calling for is his renunciation of the remark that he made some time ago in the National Assembly that he takes no responsibility for crime. I don’t think people have been calling for him to take over the Ministry of National Security. So why didn’t he do it instead of giving Sam Condor that ministry? Asking him to take responsibility is asking him to dissociate himself from the remarks he made when he sat back in the National Assembly, smiled and said that crime is not his responsibility.
“Everybody must take responsibility for crime! But the way in which he has abused the Deputy Prime Minister makes the Deputy Prime Minister look very fallible in the eyes of the community. And I don’t think it promotes the interest of the Deputy Prime Minister…I don’t think it is a good thing at all that he did for this country.”
Part-time photographer Livingston Huggins also had his say.
“I don’t believe that Sam Condor knew what was coming down. It was a surprise to me! Even though Sam had said that he did not ask for the ministry and it was thrown on him, the crime initiatives that he tabled in Parliament and his nation-wide address after five murders in six days indicate that he was taking his role seriously, although he had problems with his Permanent Secretary.
“The Prime Minister said that Sam would be heading the Ministry of Homeland Security without responsibility for the Police and Defence Forces. Isn’t the Prime Minister aware that the US Department of Homeland Security was created in response to the 9/11 attack and the military is under its command, while its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism? This means that with the Prime Minister having the two forces under his wings, Sam’s responsibilities have been greatly reduced.”
He too believes that Dr. Douglas wants to marginalise Condor and has been a failure in the ministries he headed.
“With Sam’s tabling of the Interception of Communications Act and the Gang (Prohibition and Prevention) Act 2011 and initiatives to be implemented by the new Commissioner, it seems as if crime will significantly reduce and Dr. Douglas will certainly like to take the commendations.
“When we had the electricity problem in 2004, he took responsibility of that utility away from Halva Hendrickson, gave us an EC$500 rebate and took it back and more in 2005. We saw under his management that the electricity woes had gotten worse. The same result was evident during his two terms as Minister of National Security…failure. He also failed as Minister of Finance; a position that was better managed by Dr. Timothy Harris, who is a Senior Minister with responsibility for Agriculture and not Lands.
“I am therefore convinced that Prime Minister Douglas is seeking an avenue to regain the nation’s confidence in him. But that is a very hard task following his failures and promises.”
Huggins is of the view that Minister Condor is a party man and a strong believer in the Labour Movement, but “so loyal is he to the Labour Party, that it is to his detriment”.
He concluded by saying if it were a deliberate act by Dr. Douglas to make Minister Condor’s responsibility in the Labour government a miniscule one, then “who is next…is it Timothy Harris”?
SKNVibes had made many attempts to get a comment from the Deputy Prime Minister, but they were all unsuccessful. However, more attempts will be made so that the public can be informed if he were aware of the changes and why was he not in Parliament after Dr. Douglas made the announcement.
