SKN Minister of Tourism to be investigated for alleged assault against officer
There has been much controversy surrounding the incident on January 8 at Last Lap Bar with the Minister of Tourism, Transport, and Posts, Hon. Lindsay Grant, compliance officers of the federation’s COVID-19 Task Force and whether the tourism minister would be reprimanded for his lawlessness.
Minister Grant verbally accosted the police officers and physically assaulted a female officer, all of which were caught on tape and circulated via social media. The compliance officers were performing their designated tasks which were to ensure that all events were adhering to the COVID-19 protocols enforced by the NEOC Task Force and approved by the federal cabinet. Since the release of the videos on social media, there have been rumours of several other videos which showed the full extent of what took place on that night in question.
On January 12, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force put out a communique regarding the launch of an investigation into the incident at Last Lap Bar in Bird Rock stating they are “in the process of gathering evidence, which includes, but is not limited to, conducting interviews, taking statements, and requesting reports.” However, the public appears to have minute confidence in the Police Force to fully execute investigations to hold the minister accountable to the full extent of the law. Hon. Lindsay Grant has been caught in several scandals that have gone unaccounted for over the past years. The Kittitian and Nevisian public have been voicing their lack of confidence and frustration regarding social media.
The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party forwarded a press release to our media house on January 11, giving insight into some of these unaccounted incidents. The press release stated, “This latest incident is one in a growing list of breaches that the Minister of Tourism has perpetrated, and his resignation has been long overdue. Previous incidents include Minister Grant having been found liable for “Breach of Trust”, “Breach of their Fiduciary Duty” and “Misappropriation of Monies” in the amount of “US$460,000.00” or EC$1.2 million, and him being caught in another viral video making a deal with a campaign investor offering large amounts of public land in exchange for campaign funds and giving instructions for the funds to deposit on his offshore accounts.”
Lindsay Grant and his partner Jonel Powell were found guilty of misappropriation, breach of trust, and fiduciary duty. The client Tanzil Tobing entrusted their law firm Grant, Powell & Co. in May 2013 to purchase a condominium on his behalf, to which he paid US$460,000.00. Justice Ventose gave “an order requiring the Defendants to return immediately the sum of US$460,000.00 paid to them intrust and in escrow for the purchase and execution of title of condominium unit R-228 with interest”. The two were disbarred due to their guilty verdict and faced their demise. Details of the case can be found here https://www.eccourts.org/tanzania-tobing-tanzil-v-lindsay-f-p-grant-et-al-2/.
Throughout the Caribbean, Ministers of Government have been forced to resign for similar misconduct acts. To date, the Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis continue to remain silent on the above matters, particularly the most recent incident of the disrespect and assault of the police officers at Last Lap Bar on January 8. The issue of corruption has been a dominant accusation held against the government since its inception in 2015.
Liz Myke
Reporter
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