St. George’s, January 18, 2012 – Confusion prevails in Grenada over the fate of MP Joseph Gilbert following an emergency cabinet meeting and a subsequent statement issued by Richard Simon, Press Secretary to Prime Minister Tillman Thomas.
Just before noon on Wednesday, it was reported that Prime Minister Thomas had fired Gilbert, Minister for the Environment and Foreign Trade, over a letter Gilbert allegedly wrote last year when he held the portfolio as Minister of Works, Public Utilities and Physical Development.
However, in a release late Wednesday afternoon headlined, “Statement by Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas,” Press Secretary Simon said that the Grenadian leader, “having certain troubling information before him pertaining to what appears to be a serious breach of cabinet principles, decided that he would proceed by way of bringing the matter to the knowledge of the Minister concerned and intimating to him the action he is intending to take.’’
The statement added that it was “very important, out of an abundance of caution, to obtain the additional information before confirming his course of action. Accordingly, the Prime Minister anticipates that he would come to a decision on this matter very shortly whereupon he will duly inform his Cabinet and the general public.’’
However, an informed source close to the Office of the Prime Minister, said that at the emergency meeting, Mr. Thomas indicated that a definite decision had been made on the fate of Gilbert.
According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Prime Minister told his cabinet colleagues that he had advised Governor General, Sir Carlyle Glean, to revoke the appointment of Gilbert as a minister of government.
Employees at the Ministerial Complex said they had a feeling that something was amiss when two staff members of the New Today newspaper, which is often publishes inside information of cabinet and government proceedings, turned up at the site of Wednesday emergency meeting.