Last Updated on October 3, 2019, 3:34 PM AST by Anthony Morris
Surrogates of St Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister, Dr the Hon Timothy Harris has launched another round of verbal attacks on the Premier of Nevis and the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation, Hon Mark Brantley.
The new round of verbal attacks is about Mr Brantley’s opposition to the disenfranchisement of nationals of St Kitts and Nevis who are on the current Voters’ Register and who reside overseas and the imposition of a six-month residency requirement for the upcoming general elections.
Leonardo Phillip, believed to be a fake FaceBook account, who expresses the policies and positions of Dr Harris, in his latest salvo against Brantley, asks the question: “If not Dr Timothy S Harris, then who?”
In an earlier posting, Phillip without providing the scientific evidence said “locals overwhelmingly support PM Harris and residency requirements. The diaspora overwhelming supports Dr. Harris and residency requirements.”
Phillip also stated that the “majority of members in cabinet support Dr. Harris and residency requirements.”
“We will not allow one man to deny the people their wish because of his selfish gains,” said Phillip.
More evidence of Brantley’s differing view on the residency requirement, was also mentioned in Phillips’ response to a Patricia Bridgewater when he stated: “The government has a mandate and no one will derail the government from executing that. Unity is for residency requirements and every (government) minister must come on board.”
Last July, both Prime Minister Harris and Premier Brantley waged a war of words on Facebook over Prime Minister Harris’ disrespect to Premier Brantley,” by travelling to Charlestown without informing Brantley. Harris later followed with a public statement that “no protocol was breached” and as prime minister he is “free as every other citizen and resident, to move without let and hindrance to any area in St Kitts and Nevis.”
“There is nothing as ugly or destructive as the human frailty of insecurity. If you are confident to be who you are and what you do, then there is no need to fear any man,” Premier Brantley responded in a FaceBook posting.
During his visit to Charlestown, Dr Harris also told firemen in Nevis that he “sent to Nevis this year an additional one million dollars for the completion of the police station and as Minister of Finance, he has to ensure that monies aren’t squandered,” which was seen in several circles as accusing Premier Brantley, who is also Minister of Finance in the Nevis Island Administration, of mismanaging the financial affairs of the Nevis government.
Harris’ remarks on Nevis finances, mirrored a June 22, 2019 FaceBook posting by an Andre Liburd, who has always expressed the views and policies of Prime Minister Harris and attacks persons including opposition politicians, Board members, senior civil servants and prominent residents. Harris has never distanced himself from Liburd’s Facebook postings.
Liburd had accused Premier Brantley of demonstrating his ungratefulness – after receiving full support from Team Unity (TU) Government headed by Harris.
“Ungratefulness is worst than witchcraft. I think its time to bring down the hammer on some people head. By the way is only one Government Minister in the World getting two salaries collected each month, a reference to Brantley who is paid as Premier of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) in Charlestown and as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation in the Federal Government in Basseterre.
Weeks after Prime Minister Harris was named in a British High Court judgment in May 2018 in a bribery scandal involving British billionaire Peter Virdee in which conversations of Virdee were recorded by German police.
The judges noted that “without going into particulars, and putting the matter at its very lowest, we have no doubt that a judge considering the passages we have quoted would regard them as capable of giving rise to a reasonable inference that the claimants were willing in principle to make and to pay bribes, but felt that the Caribbean politicians (Harris and Michael) were asking for too much.”
Dr Harris robustly defended himself, “emphatically and unequivocally” denying any involvement since becoming prime minister, although the judgment references a date of 12th March, 2016 when Harris was prime minister. While in London Intransit to Dubai, Prime Minister Harris in a telephone conversation begged VIrdee for a watch, a pair of shoes and campaign financing, while discussions were taking place on a proposed energy project in St Kitts.
Amidst rumors that two Cabinet colleagues were hatching plans to remove him as prime minister following the scandal, Dr Harris hastily called a town hall meeting in his constituency.
“Whoever carried their suit to dry clean, to get freshen up and nice up for the swearing in of a prime minister, tell them there is no vacancy. There is no vacancy in the Office of the Prime Minister. And I don’t care how much rumors they spread, I don’t care when they said where they said some people went to keep secret meeting for what ever they do in the dark has to come out in the light. Whatever is done in the dark has to come out in the light. And what will come out in the light is that none of them, none of them who are scheming can hold a candle of correction to me,” said Harris.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
