PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands — A previous contender for the leadership of the Progressive National Party (PNP) in the Turks and Caicos Islands, attorney Carlos Simons QC, has gone public with a call for reconsideration of the current leadership of the party, which is in the hands of Clayton Greene, also a local attorney and former Speaker of the House.
“It has been one month now since the leader of our party has been charged with a serious criminal offence. He protests his innocence. He promised after he was first arrested and released on police bail that he would ‘consider’ the issue of resignation,” Simons said in an open letter to party leaders.
He went on to criticise Greene for not holding a meeting of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) or the National Governing Council (NGC) to consider the party’s situation. He also complains that the party is without a deputy leader after Greene’s choice of Albray Butterfield Jr was unacceptable to the NGC and was set aside over one year ago.
Simons addressed these issues, saying: “Calling a spade a spade, the leader’s behaviour is outrageous and contravenes every accepted norm of proper conduct in public office. Just as the charge against him has been made publicly, he must now publicly offer his resignation and leave it to the party to decide whether or not to ask him to stay on until a new leader can be elected in an orderly way. The matter might be different had there been a deputy leader, but thanks to the leader, and contrary to the constitution of our party, there is no deputy!”
