BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SPEAKING before a massive crowd, which included large groups of Spanish-speaking non-nationals, Guyanese and Jamaicans, Prime Minister and Leader of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas lashed out at Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd with a prolonged outburst of bitter outspoken condemnation of his work ethics.
Dr. Douglas was at the time speaking at his party’s public ‘Full Confidence’ political meeting at Pond’s Pasture, Basseterre on Sunday night (May 5).
The Prime Minister was telling the audience to go out in their numbers to join his party in the Labour Day March, while at the same time explaining the good that his government has done for the nation over the years and what it intends to do in the future.
He however used the opportunity to chastise his former Deputy Sam Condor and sacked Senior Minister Dr. Timothy Harris, labelling them hypocrites, parasites and being ungrateful, before turning his wrath on Liburd.
Liburd, who has replaced Glenroy Blanchette as the People’s Action Movement’s candidate for St. Christopher One, is a former member of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party and had held a number of senior positions in the Labour Administration.
“…But the point I want to make is this, every single one ah dem…all ah dem ah hypocrites, parasites, ungratefulness, and the last one I want to bring into that group is Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd. Because you see, Asim was right. The Labour Party did everything to help that hog. Everything we did.
“When the government changed in 1995 we went up on the stage in East Basseterre when Asim was being introduced and he sing a song…‘Yes Jesus loves me’. And when we done win, because he sing a song he seh he want a big job. He want a big job to sing a song. Oh how Jesus loves me…Jesus loves all of us! It ain’t he alone Jesus love. And when we heard that he was going to be dismissed by Horsford we took him in and we send him down the Port. We sent him down the Port to become the Manager of the Port,” Dr. Douglas the audience.
Dr. Douglas claimed that after Liburd was appointed Manager at the Port, many complaints were lodged against him on a daily basis.
“As soon as he reached down deh, all hell broke loose. He tun it upside down. The people from East Basseterre, in particular, could not keep out of Asim’s office. Every day it was a complain about Patches dismissing somebody, busing off somebody…all kind of craziness going on down there with Patches.
“It reached to the point…I was in charge of the Port, I was the Minister and the Board came to me and the Board said, ‘PM, we can’t work with this man.’ Ah call him in. Ah seh, ‘Patches, lawd it gon look too bad for us to dismiss you. Wha’ you want to do?’ He seh, ‘Ah always wanted to do a Masters.’ Ah seh, ‘Go do you Masters.’ Me send him way on paid leave. Hear wha’ ah tell you…you hear ’bout ungratefulness, you hear ’bout hog behaviour?
Dr. Douglas also claimed that after completing his studies, Liburd returned to the Federation and indicated that “he good to go Public Sector Reform”.
However, according to the Prime Minister, the people at that establishment did not want him there because “if he turn way the people at the Port, he gun turn way the whole civil service”.
“And so I put him with Halva as the PS for Public Works and Communications and so forth. In next to no time he and Halva had a big war. Halva say, ‘Is either that me gun go dung or you gun go dung.’ I believe in the grave you know. It was that serious you know. A seh, ‘Boy we don’t want no murder here in this government.’
“So a seh, ‘For God’s sake Cabinet who gun tek him? Cedric seh, ‘Me gun tek him, he name like me…me gun tek him.’ After a while, Cedric came back to me…‘Lawd PM, relieve me of this man, relieve me please, relieve me.’ Patches Ian Liburd I talking about, he can’t wuk with anybody!”
Dr. Douglas told the gathering that he once again spoke with Liburd, informing him that no one seemed to favour working with him and that he was at a loss in finding him a job.
“Next thing a seh, ‘Boy Patches nobody want to wuk with you, wha a gun do wid you? Next thing I decided to send him with Linda Adams, the PS, was retiring from Community and Social Development etc. And a seh, ‘Boss the only place I can send you is down there where Linda retired from.’ Comrades, if I am lying, God help me here.
“When I spoke to Sam Condor, Sam Condor bawl. He seh, ‘Lawd PM, you gun tackle me with a man like Patches Liburd?’ Sam went home to he wife, he bawl in she lap, bawling in she lap seh, ‘Only now I know Douglas don’t like me…he give me Patches to wuk as PS.’ You could check the hospital record. Sam took sick and went up the hospital fuh one day. Check the records if you think ah lying. If you think ah lying check the hospital records…got sick because he was supposed to wuk with Patches.”
The Labour Party’s Leader explained that following elections in that year there was a change in portfolios and he sent Liburd to work at the Agriculture Department, where he remained until his contract expired.
“And then I said to him, ‘Boy Patches you contract up, nobody could wuk with you because you cannot wuk with people. So you got to go.”
But, according to Dr. Douglas, Liburd was given another chance to redeem himself.
“Patches was my good friend from schooldays. Every single man in the Cabinet asked me, ‘But PM, what secret this man ah hold fuh you? Why you don’t let him go?’ Ah seh, ‘Fellows, he is a Labour man leh we see how we could help him.’ And then one man stretched out his hand to help, and that was Asim. Because we had a project with the Basseterre Aquifer Project for two years, we needed a manager and Asim seh, ‘PM, I will accept him.’ And he did.”
Dr. Douglas indicated that Liburd’s salary at that time was US$4 000 per month.
However, Dr. Douglas claimed that his service was terminated because he was supposed to submit a report at the end of his contract for reemployment, but “only in the last few months of the assignment he began to show serious interest in de project”.
