Honourable Shawn Richards
Basseterre, ST KITTS-NEVIS – Deputy Prime Minister the Honourable Shawn Richards (DPM) has admitted to meting out preferential treatment towards the residents of his home town, Sandy Point.
During his presentation last Thursday’s town hall meeting (11th Aug.), the third of its kind in the series entitled “Discussions for Prosperity”, Richards firmly stated that he has been “looking out for the people of Sandy Point”.
Richards went on to detail a number of instances where he personally took steps to ensure that Sandy Point residents acquired job positions, thereby actively circumventing the standard civil service application and applicant selection process.
“…. So long as there is a vacancy and I can assist somebody from Sandy Point, I will do so…. I see the AG looking at me….because we were at dinner last night and I said ‘AG, I sent you a resume for a young man; what has happened to it?’ He said he is speaking to Patches about it because he feels the young man would be better placed in Patches’ ministry, and so Patches, we have to speak about that,” Richards is quoted as saying.
DPM Richards outlined yet another situation where his personal assistance interfered with the civil service application and hiring processes. “A next young man sent me a message this morning. He said ‘There’s a vacancy in one of Lindsey’s ministries,’ and Lindsey can tell you right away I sent him a message. I said ‘Lindsey, this young man has applied for a job in your ministry. Please to look into it for me’. Always looking out for the people of Sandy Point,” Richards stated.
DPM Richards also affirmed that a numerous Sandy Point residents are members of various institutional boards due to his direct intervention in the member selection process. He stated during his presentation that “You want to look at Sandy Pointers on boards, the record is there…. CFBC (Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College) board – Sandy Pointers there. UDC (Urban Development Commission) board – Sandy Pointers there.
Social Security board – Sandy Pointers there. Frigate Bay Development Cooperation – Sandy Pointers there. And you name them, we have Sandy Pointers on just about all the boards in this country….”
Numerous ordinary citizens have expressed disappointment and shock at hearing the DPM’s affirmations. Some stated that his actions were tantamount to nepotism and lawlessness for by his actions, he showed a blatant disregard for the rules and regulations governing the civil service hiring process.
Labour Party Chair, Honourable Marcella Liburd, surmised that the DPM appears to misunderstand his role as a minister. “He thinks it is to employ people from Sandy Point so he breaches all the [civil service] laws in the process. Is this the new transparency and good governance?
So, Director of Sports and Director of Culture had no interviews and the positions were not advertised because they were from Sandy Point. This is crazy. He [Richards] is clearly out of his depth,” Liburd concluded.
Speaking on the August 17th edition of the talk show programme “Issues”, opposition leader, the Right Honourable Dr Denzil Douglas, expressed serious concerns about the DPM’s actions.
Douglas stated that while he was “not one to criticise”Richard’s desire to care for his constituency, “I want us to consider if this was going to be the attitude of every single member of the cabinet – seeking only after his own interest – well then, who seeks after the interest of the ordinary citizens of this country who are not so well connected to ministers of government, etc?”
Douglas further stated that such a practice of Cronyism would set at a disadvantage the majority of citizens as only the family and friends of government ministers stood to benefit from such largess