The opinions in this article are not that of the Antiguan Trumpet its Shareholders , Director and Employees but of a reader who wish to express their views.
by A Concerned Labourite
The recent announcement by Information Minister Melford Nicholas that Michael Browne – the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) Member of Parliament who allegedly resigned as Education Minister on 25 November 2020 – has been arrested and charged, rumour has it, with serious offenses, headlines a new chapter of hypocrisy in the governance conduct of Prime Minister Gaston Browne.
The Information Minister did not state the nature of the charge but it is known that in sexual offenses there can be no identity of the victim and/or the perpetrator. I suppose that this is an occasion were silence speaks volumes.
With regard to the standards advocated by the Prime Minister, in relation to misconduct by his members of his Cabinet, it seems apparent that we are operating on double standards.
At last week’s post-cabinet media briefing, Minister Nicholas indicated Michael Browne had been removed from his post after the Prime Minister found out he had been criminally charged. According to Nicholas, “the Prime Minister did further assert that the Minister has maintained his innocence and requires the support of his colleagues to ensure that he is able to address this matter in the legal channels to absolve himself of this particular situation”. The impression is that once the Minister deals with this situation and is successful all will be well and back into Cabinet he will be welcomed.
So, a Member of Cabinet is arrested, charged for what appears to be a very serious criminal offence, released on bail, ordered to surrender his travel documents and report to the Police Station 3 times a week; and the Prime Minister (the Head of Cabinet) advocates for the support of his Cabinet colleagues.
That’s all well and good. Except that this is the same Prime Minister who recently declared war on a former Member of his Cabinet, insisting that MP for St Peter Asot Michael, would be barred from contesting elections for the ABLP if he “ends up in any trouble with the law”.
“Clearly”, Gaston Browne stated most categorically, “if Comrade Michael is charged for any criminal action, he will not be able to run on the Labour Party ticket and will be replaced and we always have to be prepared… in the unlikely event that comrade Asot Michael would be charged criminally…”
Former Carnival Queen and Miss World Contestant, Shermaine Jeremy, who the Prime Minister has tipped as his preferred ABLP candidate for the St Peter Constituency, confirmed in September 2020, that the move against Asot Michael has been under consideration for three years:
“This isn’t new news. It was discussed back in 2017… When the Prime Minister asked about stepping in, it was really about the Party needing someone that they could depend on to take the Minister’s place…”
To place this matter in perspective, it must be remembered that Asot Michael was removed as a Cabinet Minister while he was being interviewed by the English authorities. That interview took less than a day and indeed probably less than an hour. Yet miraculously the Prime Minister was able to remove him as a Minister when he was not even in the country.
Let’s understand clearly what this means. For more than three years, the self-proclaimed champion of good and accountable governance, has been plotting to have Asot Michael replaced as MP for St Peter, seemingly whether or not he is criminally charged. Asot Michael has not been charged for any wrongdoing. It must be clear to all that he’s not likely to be charged. But he remains fighting for his political life in the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party against a sustained leadership campaign to have him dismissed in a humiliating manner at any cost. It begs the question: why? You must recall that Asot Michael’s second departure from the Government had nothing to do with a police investigation but the publication of a recording where he stated unflattering things about his Prime Minister.
Now that a Member of PM Browne’s Cabinet has been arrested and charged for a very serious criminal offense, he goes no further than to dismiss him from his Ministerial responsibilities and remains totally silent on the former Minister’s position as the Member of Parliament for All Saints West.
The Prime Minister selected his replacement candidate in St Peter more than three years ago and has been waiting for a criminal charge to get rid of Asot Michael, the man who for the last 20 years has been in the heat of the engine room of the Labour Party, and who has, more than mostother members, fought to keep that Party relevant, functional and successful over the years going back to the Lester Bird era. He is the man who made Gaston Browne King!
So how come now after knowing about these allegations for some time he says nothing about a replacement candidate for the criminally charged Michael Browne?
Blatant hypocrisy! Vicious double standards, or is there more to it than meets the eye?
