Former Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has strongly condemned members of the ruling New Democratic Party (NDP) and local media for their harsh treatment of Nadia Slater, the acting director of the Agency for Public Information (API), over what he described as an “innocent, inadvertent error”.
The controversy centers around a press conference announcement distributed by the API, which mistakenly listed Ralph Gonsalves as the Prime Minister instead of the current officeholder. The situation was compounded when the API attempted to issue a follow-up statement clarifying that the error was made “without malice,” but a typographical error resulted in the document erroneously reading “with malice”.
Speaking publicly on Monday, May 4th, Gonsalves vigorously defended Slater, describing her as a “very good professional” and a “woman of quality” from a progressive family in Cleave Valley. He emphasized that the initial mistake was simply a clerical issue and not an offense that you should “hang somebody for”.
To illustrate his point, he drew parallels to past harmless title mix-ups, noting instances where individuals mistakenly referred to him as Prime Minister while in opposition, or continued to call Sir James Mitchell the Prime Minister long after he demitted office in October 2000. He argued that such minor mistakes should not be turned into a matter bigger than they are.
Gonsalves accused the current NDP leadership of exhibiting “madness,” “heartlessness,” and a “high-handed manner” in their response to the incident. He claimed that ruling politicians and certain media outlets were trying to “tie her up, tar and feather her” to torment the young professional.
He specifically called out the publication Eyewitness News for leading the charge against Slater. Gonsalves criticized the outlet for acting like “part of the state media of the NDP” and presenting highly partisan, one-sided reporting that lacks professionalism. Furthermore, he questioned the propriety of the outlet’s owner, Kenton Chance, allegedly running the paper while serving as a diplomat in Taiwan, stating that such an arrangement is “not proper”.
Gonsalves characterized the ongoing attacks on Slater as a clear manifestation of “unacceptable bullying” driven by an insecure administration that lacks confidence. He issued a direct and firm plea to the politicians involved in the targeted harassment of the public servant, demanding, “Stop it, man. Stop it”.