Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 3, 2020 — With the world celebrating Press Freedom Day, Operation Rescue founder Dwyer Astaphan has expressed concern over the manipulation of the media by Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris, alleging that offences under the Integrity in Public Life Act are being committed.
Noting that the government has sufficient state media outlets and private agencies working for it, Astaphan singled out PM Harris’s practice of occupying virtually every radio station on Tuesday nights. “They go not only on ZIZ, they go on Sugar City, Freedom FM, VON Radio, WINNFM. That has to cost a hell of a lot of money to be on every radio station in the country for two, three hours,” he said on his Facebook talk show.
“The question is, are these government information dissemination forums or are they public political meetings? It is my conclusion that they are political meetings. If the government is using taxpayers’ money to pay for these broadcasts, it is not only wrong morally and ethically, it is illegal and contrary to the Integrity in Public Life Act,” said Astaphan, citing Section 27 which states a public official commits an offence of abuse of office if they use public funds for private purposes including party political purposes.
A person found in breach of the law faces a fine of EC$30,000 or three years in prison. Astaphan noted that a resident can file a complaint in writing to the three-person Integrity Commission, which has the power to investigate.