PM: Cameras coming at all ports

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart during a 90-minute television interview on CBCTV8. (Nigel Browne)

By Mike King | Wed, April 27, 2011 - 12:05 AM

SHANIQUE Myrie is free to return to Barbados and point a finger at who she alleges assaulted her at the Grantley Adams International Airport last month.

And according to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, surveillance cameras will be installed to confirm or contradict any allegation in the future.

This country’s seventh Prime Minister made these disclosures on a nationally televised interview on the state-run Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC TV) last night.

Prime Minister Stuart said the Myrie affair in which the Jamaican woman claimed she was finger-raped at the airport was unfortunate and had inflamed many passions. However, he said he was disappointed that certain elements had tried to inflame the issue because they thought that “here at last was a stick in which Government could be beaten”.

Stuart said he had in his possession a full report by the police on the issue, statements from all of the persons who were involved and gave the country the assurance that his Government was on top of the matter.“

No obstacles will be put in the way of Miss Myrie if she wants to be come back to Barbados and to point out to police who the offending officer, as alleged by her, might be.

“Suffice to say, I am not aware that there has been any formal complaint from the Jamaican police to the police authorities that would activate any prosecutorial processes,” he said.

Stuart said that relations between Barbados and all of its regional neighbours would continue to be normal.

The Prime Minister said there was a view that if any cameras had been in place for the March 14 incident, there might not have been any scope for speculation.

Stuart said he journeyed to the airport himself, accompanied by public officials, did a comprehensive tour of every “nook and cranny” of the airport having to do with immigration, customs and police.

The Prime Minister said he had decided that there would be cameras put where none were now “so that in the event that anyone feels bold enough to make allegations as serious of those made by Myrie, camera evidence should be available either to confirm the allegation or to contradict it”.

Stuart said it was a “monstrous perversion of the truth” to say he had little to do and that his ministerial responsibility was limited to Defence and Security.

The Prime Minister said he was responsible for the Public Service, Town Planning, Energy, Telecommunications, Broadcasting and also had ministerial responsibility for Invest Barbados, which is responsible for the promotion of our international business sector, “the sector that contributes the largest share of our corporate taxes to the economy of Barbados”.

Stuart said he would be meeting with the Public Service Commission very shortly to address the issue of acting appointments in the public service.

He said it was a “naughty and irritating problem” that had caused much resentment in the public service.

“It does not allow people to plan their lives with any certainty and comfort and causes too much disruption. I think we really have to deal with it.”

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Posted by Layla Arias 10 months ago

When I heard Ms Myrie’s allegations about maltreatment at the hands of personnel at the GAIA, it called to mind the well publicised protests on the part of unionised customs officers and others, spurred in part, by attempts by certain officials, to introduce more security cameras at various ports of entry.
Some of the officers felt that the cameras amounted to an invasion of their workspace, a breach of the psychological contract and a lack of trust on the part of certain administrators. Many were reported to have feared some kind of victimisation. On the other hand, many in the public arena were convinced that some individuals might have been more afraid of the encroachment that cameras caused upon the alleged thriving practice of pilfering people’s hard-earned possessions, than anything else.
My thoughts then, were along the lines that hard working, honest, professional people should have nothing to hide and therefore shouldn’t be concerned about the camera installations; people who are employed at financial institutions and in other areas of business deal with that reality every time they report for work. I also said, perhaps prophetically, that there were benefits to be derived by all parties, from such technologies and that we would pay the price if we failed to use them to our advantage.

It is really interesting now, to see how the tides have changed. I agree with those in government who have concluded that all the speculation surrounding the Myrie allegations could have been avoided had there been more strategically-placed cameras at the ports of entry. Of course, this rather reactionary deduction has come a little late, to the detriment of Barbados’ high reputation. Let this be a lesson to our government and all in society at large… We must do the right things the right way to ensure that we are effective, efficient and on top of our game if we are to continue to shine on the international stage. May God continue to bless Barbados!

Wrold Citizen