Director of Broadcasting at Bahamas Information Services, Steve McKinney, has been relieved of his duties at the government communications department.
McKinney was reportedly pulled into the office of BIS Executive Director Edward Ellis on Thursday and forced to take an accumulated 18-weeks vacation, beginning Monday.
The move came a day after McKinney participated in a demonstration on Bay Street with a cross-section of Bahamians who opposed a 51 percent stake of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company being sold to Cable and Wireless?Communications.
In an interview with The Nassau Guardian yesterday, McKinney explained that the situation unfolded when he was handed a letter requesting he take immediate vacation.
“I looked at the letter and it said February 28 is the day effective for my vacation leave. I had Thursday and Friday to get my belongings and get out of BIS,”
McKinney said. “I had already indicated to them I was not signing a new contract with them. They had asked me, and I told them I wasn’t interested in signing a new contract with them because I am going into my own personal business in broadcasting and journalism. They knew that from last year.”
Asked whether he thought the move was politically motivated, McKinney said that question has to be directed at senior government officials. However, he believes his participation in the demonstration has a lot to do with it.
