Published 7 April, 2017
By Ken Richards
BASSETERRE, St Kitts (WINN) — Campaign financing is part of the St Kitts and Nevis government’s good governance legislative agenda, Prime Minister Timothy Harris confirmed on Wednesday at a press conference.
The prime minister was responding to a question about how much of a priority for the administration that issue is.
“Campaign financing that is part of good governance and that is a matter that is there, when that particular program is put to the public then the public will be advised of it. You brought in too, the mischief being propagated by persons who are no longer with the PLP in large measure because of that mischief.”
Harris was referring to a question from WINN FM about allegations from three former executive members of Harris’s Peoples Labour Party (PLP), allegations of unaccounted for campaign funds.
The prime minister told reporters that legal action had already been initiated on that matter.
Citing an apology he had received from one media house on the issue, Harris suggested that others could find themselves before the court on the unaccounted for campaign funds allegations.
“I would therefore caution those who want to propagate those mischief, that they will answer to the court. I myself, is not going to get into any to or fro but it is discouraging when media houses attempt to take hearsay without a scintilla of evidence from disaffected persons and attempt to propagate it as if there is some truth in it. Not one scintilla of evidence and that has been reported not just by myself, but by senior members of the party.
“In fact all you have from those stories are some hearsay. Not one credible bit of evidence has been put in the public domain, so why are we talking about this hearsay and propaganda that people are attempting to put on social media for others to follow. I have taken legal action because ultimately that is where the matter will resolve itself,” Harris said.
Former PLP deputy leader Sam Condor, chairman Douglas Wattley and secretary Clecton Phillip have been calling for an inquiry into the alleged unaccounted for campaign funds.
The three are no longer executive members of the PLP, after a new executive was voted in at the party’s recent convention.
They continue to maintain however, that there is need for an inquiry into the matter.
WINN FM’s follow-up question pointing this out didn’t find favour with Harris.
“Yes but if it is a question to do with the PLP, please that is a matter already before lawyers and I will not entertain any questions to do with that matter,” he said.
WINN FM wished to follow up on a statement that the prime minister made by pointing out that the allegations were not coming from persons on the street but from three persons who were executive members.
“For the record I am not entertaining that discussion at an appropriate forum of the PLP you could perhaps put that to the PLP. I am dealing here as the prime minister with matters relevant to the government and the accusation of members, whoever they are, of the PLP have no bearing on the functioning of this government and they are not matters that I raised or matters that I figure a press conference of the government should be diverted to,” the prime minister replied.
Republished with permission of West Indies News Network
