Minister of Foreign Affairs Fitzgerald Bramble has revealed two major diplomatic controversies currently facing his ministry, involving wiped computers at the New York Consulate and a standoff over a charitable trust fund in London.
Minister Bramble emphasized the most pressing issue surrounds the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consulate in New York. According to Bramble, the incoming Consul General, Roland Matthews (or Patel), took office in early March and discovered that his official computer had been wiped entirely clean.
“All he told me is that there’s nothing on his computer,” Bramble stated, adding that the matter is currently under active investigation.
While it remains unclear exactly who had access to the machine between the departure of the former Consul General Rondy Luta McIntosh and the arrival of the new one, Bramble noted that typically, only Consul General accesses their designated devices.
When asked in an interview on Hot97 if the investigation would involve IT specialists or external law enforcement like the FBI or NYPD, Bramble declined to speculate but assured the public that the government is “exploring all of our options” to ensure the investigation is thorough and complete.
Bramble stated that the former Consul General of the New York consulate “will be spoken to” as part of the ongoing investigation into the wiped consulate computers.
A separate diplomatic headache is unfolding at the High Commission in London concerning a trust fund established by a European benefactor to assist Vincentian children.
Bramble explained that the fund is meant to be managed by the sitting High Commissioner. However, the signatories on the account currently include the former High Commissioner Cenio Lewis and a former government advisor. According to the Minister, both individuals are reportedly refusing to cooperate in changing the signatures to grant the new High Commissioner access to the account.
“The new High Commissioner has been in communication with the former High Commissioner and that is where the issue is coming in,” Bramble said, noting that the former officials’ refusal to hand over control is holding up the regularization of the fund. Expressing his frustration with the bureaucratic resistance, Bramble stated firmly, “These things must stop”.
Bramble stressed that his primary goal is to serve the people and maintain strict accountability within his ministry. “I will use every and any means to let the people who I serve know what I am doing as a minister,” he asserted, adding that his department will operate strictly within the confines of the law.