St. Kitts Nevis: Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Sam Condor, says he will continue to speak out on the controversial Dubai Consulate matter until the public gets the “whole truth”, The St. Kitts Nevis Observer reported.
Responding to a Cabinet press release issued last week, Condor, Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs, discredited the communique and claimed the public was being lied to with regard to the establishment of a St. Kitts Consulate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Condor has maintained that he was not informed of, nor allowed to participate in the decision-making process of establishing the embassy, nor in selecting a Consul General in Kate Alex Woodley, the mother of Dr. Douglas’ two children, the Observer report said.
“The purported Cabinet release serves to confirm my claim in Parliament and press interview that the move to establish the Dubai Consulate circumvented, violated if you like, proper procedures and protocols and excluded for whatever reason the due involvement of the Minister with legal and constitutional responsibility,” he said.
The Deputy PM described the handling of the matter as a “travesty” and said it went to the heart of the increasing difficulties surrounding the operations of Cabinet and good governance.
The Observer said that the statement in question was disseminated following an April 2nd Cabinet Retreat at the St. Kitts Marriott which was attended by most members of the federal administration. The statement reiterated Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas’, claim that Condor was involved in and advocated for the establishment of the Dubai Consulate. It also claimed Condor had been briefed about the three-person delegation to Dubai in March which triggered public debate on the issue.
“The composition of the delegation was justified and the Government was convinced that there was no breach of the established procedures of the Service. In fact, the Minister was informed and he raised no objection to the inclusion of his Permanent Secretary on the delegation at that time,” the release said.
It also indicated that plans to establish the Consulate were progressing, as was discussed at the Retreat. Condor however, says otherwise, the Observer report said.
“The opening of a Consulate therefore, was not considered; not discussed, in fact no statement could have procedurally emanated from said Cabinet Retreat,” he said. “At this Retreat the only reference to Dubai was whether it was appropriate for the Minister to: (a) speak to the press and (b) to make the statement in Parliament.”
The Observer reported that the Deputy PM said he remains accountable to the populace and therefore there would be no letting up on the matter “until the public gets the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.
“A subterfuge is being played out right before our very eyes,” Condor warned.
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