Published 16 February 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
By : Media Source
Clecton Phillip wants info on financial arrangement
between TimesCaribbean and Harris Government
Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 17, 2018 – Clecton Phillip, former press secretary to St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris is asking about the financial arrangement between the Team Unity Government and Times Caribbean.
“The principals behind Timescaribbeanonline obviously have a direct access to the THUGs as quite often they are first movers of government information, decisions and policy positions (before either the Press Secretary and/or the Government Information Service),” Phillip noted in a FaceBook posting.
“I have long held the view that, under those circumstances, the voters and taxpayers ought to know the details of the arrangement between Timescaribbeanonline (and its principals) and the government (and/or Prime Minister),” said Phillip.
He said it is also important, for the industry tradition of transparency, accountability and credibility, that the people know who are the Publisher/Managing Editor, journalists and writers propping up this government propaganda machine.
“Let’s see whether the ‘ghost publicists’ get the greenlight to come out of the shadows, as they should,” said Phillip.
“The people of St. Kitts and Nevis deserve to know the reputation and credibility of the person(s) who have direct access to sensitive government information. That is standard in the industry and it is proper,” said Phillip.
It is said that TimesCaribbeanonline is paid EC$20,000 monthly by the authorities and that other media outlets are also on the Team Unity Government’s payroll to post only positive stories and avoid those that highlight corruption, dysfunction and other shortcomings within the government as well as political statements from the opposition St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) and its leaders.
