Carty: Rules and regulations must be adhered to
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Denzil Douglas, said he did not give any directive to block Deputy Prime Minister Sam Condor’s request to use the state-owned ZIZ to address the nation on Sunday evening (Sept. 4), and that protocol was adhered to.
Responding to a caller’s question on the notion that he was responsible for his Deputy having to seek another media house to respond to the recent changes made to his ministry, Dr. Douglas said, “I believe, and it is very unfortunate, that what has happened has happened. I believe that you are aware that after the ZIZ Sunday schedule had already been established, the Deputy prime Minister, on Sunday afternoon, I am told, expressed his interest in what would have been a national address.
“ZIZ, I understand, explained that the schedule had already been set and they offered to record his address. This, I understand, was unsatisfactory to the Deputy Prime Minister and he decided to deliver his address on another radio station.
“As I said, this is what the facts are, this is what I believe is the situation, and this is what I believe…I don’t want to comment on this further, but I want to say that I did not give any directive and I don’t believe that anybody could have given any directive in regard to the Deputy Prime Minister not having his statement aired.”
Dr. Douglas stressed that in every country and in every institution processes, protocols and procedures have to be put in place, and that ZIZ is no different.
He claimed that it appeared as though Minister Condor did not subject himself to protocol and chose to go to WINN FM to air his statement.
“…And for those who really are being misguided, I think they simply need to look at the record of this government with regard to what it has done in terms of freeing up the media. It was under this administration that we have been able to issue so many licences for newspapers and for radio stations that they can scarcely keep count of them. It was under this administration that the very station that the Deputy prime Minister turn to – WINN FM – it was this government that gave that particular facility its licence in order to operate,” Dr. Douglas said.
He stressed that his government believes in democracy, in allowing ideas and content and also for people to have freedom of speech, but noted that procedures and processes should be adhered to.
“I don’t believe that anyone can just, no matter who they are, can just walk into a place and say ‘this is what I want to do’, without going through the necessary procedures.
The Deputy Prime Minister, in his address to the nation, categorically stated that he was denied the privilege of live broadcasting by the Minister of Information, Senator Nigel Carty, and Chairman of the Board Peter Jenkins.
“I wish to apologise for being unable to speak to the nation via the medium of our national radio and television, because of a decision taken by Minister Carty and the Chairman of ZBC to deny me the privilege of broadcasting live.
“The Deputy Prime Minister’s speech, I was told, would have to be pre-recorded and vetted prior to broadcast in this our democratic country. This I deem to be part of the unfolding of a sick, dark and sinister plot of a depraved mind and constitutes a most regrettable turn of events which must be closely monitored.”
However, Minister Carty, in an interview with WINN FM’s Toni Frederick, said he was following protocol.
“Around five o’clock yesterday [Sunday] afternoon, I received a call from a number of my colleagues, including the prime Minister, indicating that they were hearing that the deputy Prime Minister was about to make a national address nine o’clock the evening and they asked me basically if I knew what it was about. I indicated to them that I had no idea. Nobody had spoken to me, nobody had called me to indicate, and I was asked by the Prime Minister, in particular, to ensure that the necessary protocols were followed in respect of the use of the people’s station.
Carty said on contacting Jenkins, he indicated that he also did not know what the address was about.
He also said that Jenkins told him that Minister Condor had called to say he wanted to speak on air and they had asked him about the topic in order for them to be aware of its contents.
“He [Condor] was also told that the slot he was requesting, based upon the amount of time he can be given, was not convenient, but he basically said that he is going to demand that he be given that time and he would like to make a live broadcast.
“I reported back to the Prime Minister, who indicated that the protocol should be followed in respect to these particular matters. At which point I indicated to the Chairman that the necessary protocol to the knowledge of the station, to the knowledge of the persons who operate there, should be strictly followed and as I have been directed by the Prime Minister. So, they would have taken the necessary decisions to ensure that the protocols would follow. And that is all that happened,” Carty said.
Carty, like the Prime Minister, stated that rules and regulations must be adhered to regardless of one’s status.
Asked if the Deputy Prime Minister would have been allowed to make the live broadcast if he had presented the employees of ZIZ with specifics, Carty said he is not sure what the protocols are.
“To be honest with you, ZIZ, being what is officially a private company owned by government, I cannot say to you that I know the protocols. And a person who is not experienced in those matters, I am not certain what the protocols are. But I would imagine that they would take all of the variables into consideration, the amount of time they had to work with in terms of the adjustment of their schedule for broadcasting and if they had a broad idea of what he was going to talk about.”
Carty added that he could not pronounce on what decision they would have made, but just as the protocol is observed at the airport and other government institutions, it should also be observed in that particular regard.
