Griffith's new party hits back at Hinds, PM

The National Transformation Alliance (NTA) has expressed disappointment in National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds and the Prime Minister, saying Hinds was hypocritical and the PM had a double standard in relation to corruption allegations against Youth Development and National Service Minister Foster Cummings.

A press release by the communications unit of the NTA on Saturday said Hinds "expresses feigned outrage at what he says is a very concerning situation involving the leak of a secret special branch report on his ministerial colleague. Interestingly he expressed no concern whatsoever with the contents of the document. Talk about obfuscation.”

The release was referring to the leak of a police report and its revelation by Opposition Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial on Thursday.

The report alleges that Cummings was involved in several illegal activities involving Housing Development Corporation lands, improper behaviour in relation to government contracts and an association with alleged criminals.

The NTA, led by former police commissioner Gary Griffith, said Dr Rowley received “a baseless report” written by one member of a two-person committee with no verifiable facts, yet Rowley acted on this report and caused the derailment of the CoP recruitment process. Griffith reapplied for a second term as commissioner and his since taken legal action over the process which culminated in the collapse of the Police Service Commission. A new commission has since been appointed and a new recruitment exercise is ongoing.

NTA noted that when the police Special Branch submitted a certified intelligence report on Cummings, the Prime Minister did not act but instead promoted him from government senator to MP and now to Cabinet minister.

“This lack of impartiality is mind-boggling, and the overt covering-up for a colleague by the Prime Minister is now present for all to see. What we are witnessing is an abuse of power right before our eyes, and this does not augur well for us as a country.”

It added that dozens of individuals had access to the leaked document, including government ministers and various officers who worked on the report. It said Griffith was not the only person who could have leaked the report ,as Hinds suggested.

It also accused the government of being responsible for several leaks to the media, as some of the documents such as the "Secret Barrington report, the Secret Stanley John report,"and Ministry of Finance’s confidential audit on the police were only in the possession of government ministers or a minister and members of the National Security Council.