The St. Kitts-Nevis Observer :: The Federation's Poltically Independent News Source

The much awaited Election petition case brought by Hon. Mark Brantley challenging the results of the July 11th, 2011 Nevis Island Assembly Elections has now come and gone. The evidence has been led, the law argued and the matter now rests with His Lordship Justice Lionel Jones. We await and must abide by whatever decision the learned Judge makes.

While one may debate and comment on the rightness or wrongness of the various cases presented to the Court, one aspect of the evidence of the Honourable Hensley Daniel of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) bothers me greatly; and in my view, should bother us all.

On the 6th day of October, 2011 one Halstead “Sooty” Byron filed an affidavit on behalf of Hensley Daniel. An affidavit, let us remember is sworn testimony under oath and therefore presumed to be true. Mr. Byron is well known in Nevis as a political activist for the NRP duly rewarded by his patron Hensley Daniel with a position as a paid advisor in the Ministry of Culture. Mr. Byron describes himself in the affidavit as a “political supporter of Hensley Daniel” and states that he has “worked very closely with (Hensley Daniel) and other members of a political committee for the election and re-election of Hensley Daniel”. Mr. Sooty Byron also describes himself in the affidavit as Hensley Daniel’s “campaign manager”. Mr. Byron’s political activism for the NRP and Hensley Daniel is therefore not in doubt.

Now I am not troubled at all by Sooty’s activism for and on behalf of the NRP. That is his right. I am deeply troubled however by what he says in his affidavit. In the same affidavit of October 6th, 2011 at paragraph 15, Mr. Byron says the following:

“I have read the affidavits filed by those against whom objections were made by me and (Hensley Daniel). Since the filing of those affidavits, I have researched the addresses at which the affiants water and electricity bills are addressed, and also the addresses on record at the Social Security Office in Nevis”.

In a further affidavit filed by Mr. Sooty Byron and dated 7th November, 2011 at paragraph 9 he says:

“I hereby state that the Chart referred to as “HB1” was compiled by me from my personal knowledge and from official records of the Nevis Water Department, Nevis Electricity Services Limited (NEVLEC) and the Social Security Board”

Perhaps sensing the real danger posed by these statements by Mr. Byron, Anthony Astaphan, SC Lead Counsel for the Respondents in the election case, conceded very early at the start of the case that he would not seek to rely on the records from Social Security which somehow found their way into the hands of Sooty Byron. Ultimately, those references by Mr. Byron were struck out by the Court as was most of the important parts of his affidavit evidence. That however does not and cannot answer the question which alarms me and must surely alarm others in St. Kitts and Nevis. That question which demands an answer is how did Sooty Byron, an activist for the NRP, get hold of people’s Water Department, NEVLEC and critically, their Social Security records?

Be cognizant that Sooty Byron works in the Ministry of Culture. He has nothing to do with the Water Department. While the Government owns NEVLEC, that company is not a Department of Government and it is run by a Board of Directors and a Manager. Mr. Byron does not work at NEVLEC. Insofar as Social Security is concerned, that is a body established by statute. It is run by a Board and it is not a Department of Government. Social Security by its nature has personal and intimate information about virtually all of us living in St. Kitts and Nevis who are of working age. If you are sick, Social Security has that information. If you have some disease or other incapacity, Social Security has that information. How much you make and where you work, Social Security has that information. If you are pregnant or even if you miscarry, Social Security has that information. The giving of personal information by all of us to Social Security was done on the understanding that our information in the hands of the Social Security Board and its employees would be treated with the utmost confidence. How then did Halstead “Sooty” Byron, campaign manager for Hensley Daniel, get his hands on the social security records of voters to be used for partisan political purposes?

Where does this now leave us? Sooty Byron has said in sworn testimony under oath that he had access to voters’ official Social Security records. He does not work at Social Security and as far as I am aware has no connection with Social Security. Even if he worked there, he could not as a matter of law use people’s records from Social Security for his political purposes or at all. It is well known in Nevis that the pride and joy of this Federation, the Social Security Scheme, has been infiltrated by NRP political activists on the Board, and has a few openly rabid NRP political activists on its staff in Nevis. It is then a matter of considerable suspicion as to how Sooty Byron got access to peoples confidential records.

This type of behavior cannot and should not be condoned. Our institutions like Social Security should not permit their good names to be tarnished by the petty politics of a few. All of us are free to support the political party of our choice but that support should never translate into handing over confidential social security records to party hacks like Sooty Byron. Since there have been no reports of any break in at Social Security in Nevis, then we can safely assume that Sooty Byron was provided with the information that he has said on oath he had access to. The question then is who gave him such access?

The Social Security Board should treat this matter with the utmost seriousness. Confidence in this institution can only be eroded when persons within the organization put their politics ahead of their statutory duty of confidentiality. One can only be left to wonder what other personal information might Sooty and others of his political ilk have on private citizens in this country and contributors to the Social Security Scheme? This matter demands an urgent and thorough investigation. We the citizens of this country must demand that these institutions of sacred trust not in any way abuse that trust and make our confidential information available to any political party or private individual at any time. I call on the Social Security Board publicly to investigate this matter carefully as it has serious implications for the relationship of trust that exists between citizens and residents of this country and our Social Security Scheme as contemplated by law.