~ Sees idea as Duncan's 'declaration of incompetence' ~
AIRPORT--Windward Islands Civil Servants Union/Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU) President William Reed has expressed shock and dismay at Justice Minister Roland Duncan's support for placing Immigration officers from Anguilla and St. Barths at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA).
Reed, whose union represents local Immigration officers, told The Daily Herald on Monday that placing foreign officers at PJIA would be irresponsible and a slap in the face of local Immigration officers.
"WICSU/PSU sees this announcement by the Justice Minister as a declaration of incompetence on his behalf," Reed said, asking whether Duncan would have a Justice Minister from another country sit beside him to execute his duties.
"What you don't want for yourself you don't get for yourself. This is not a Mickey Mouse country that everyone can go to the Minister of Justice and he jumps up. We will either deal with the country in a serious manner or the chips may fall where they may. If he has a department and he can't handle it, then he is incompetent."
Duncan said recently that Anguilla and St. Barths authorities had requested government's permission to place their Immigration officers at PJIA, a cooperation he said he supported 100 per cent, as it was in keeping with St. Maarten position as a hub destination.
Reed said supporting such a position because St. Maarten was a hub was "hogwash." He continued: "Puerto Rico is a hub, but they don't bring in Immigration from all over the place. Barbados is also a hub, but you don't see them bringing in Immigration officers from all over. The Minister has to take care of his departments in a rational manner and stop playing Heckle and Jeckle from here to there.
"The Justice Department is not the property of the Minister of Justice. He is there to manage it and I think when these sensitive requests are made they should be handled more discreetly to give all players the opportunity to look at these demands and look at the situation in a more rational manner, instead of going and making it public and immediately endorsing it.
"Accepting or making this declaration that he endorses the request from St. Barths and Anguilla is a declaration of incompetence, because he should ensure that he can bring his department up to par to handle the situation, instead of outsourcing to third parties."
Reed said he was very suspicious of the whole issue, as it had come on the heels of an incident at PJIA involving clients handled by Arrindell Aviation. He said most of the private jets passing through St. Maarten to go on to Anguilla and St. Barths were handled by Arrindell and the announcement by the minister was "extremely suspicious."
He also asked why the minister had expressed support for such a decision publicly before it had been discussed in the Council of Ministers. He said he believed the publicly expressed support was intended to influence the Council of Ministers.
"I think it is very irresponsible for such a request that was made on an unofficial basis and immediately the minister is going to react. What it does is put other ministers that he is looking for support from in an awkward position, because he has already consented that this is a fabulous idea."
He urged Duncan to focus on more important areas that required his attention. "The Minister has problems at the prison with his suggestion that he wants prison guards to go to Santo Domingo for training. This has been causing a brief controversy, as it appears the Minister of Justice is not the most popular person. ..."
Reed said St. Maarten "deserves a more serious approach" and the Department of Justice was not being managed in a serious manner. "If there is no serious dialogue on his end, I will not cooperate with the Minister of Justice, and in my honest opinion, it is a sign of disrespect to the Chief of Police, who is in charge of the Immigration."
Duncan had said last week Wednesday and again on Radio Soualiga 99.9FM over the weekend that Anguilla's Minister of Infrastructure and Home Affairs and a delegation had met with him earlier in the week with the request, and St. Barths had made its request earlier. He said he would be taking the proposal to the Council of Ministers this week.
Duncan had said the Anguillian authorities had identified several "problem" areas such as the "lack of full service" to the people who pass through St. Maarten en route to Anguilla. In outlining the tedious process these travellers face, Duncan had said the visitors were subjected to multiple Immigration checks. He said St. Maarten was a tourist island and it needed to be able to take measures.
He said he had started discussions for the expansion of the Immigration area at the airport to accommodate the additional Immigration officers. "We are looking at a situation where we may even end up having three sets of Immigration at the airport. It may sound big, but [it is, ed.] in keeping with [our, ed.] role as a hub," he had said last week Wednesday in the meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament.
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