by Linda Straker
- From July 2016 to July 2019 telephone bill totalled EC$115,393 in unauthorised charges
- Sheldon Scott served with a pre-action protocol letter on Sunday
- Together with interest, sum of $156,937.62 now owed
The Government of Grenada has announced that it intends to pursue civil and criminal proceedings against a former government minister who racked up a telephone bill of EC$115,393.33 during the 36-month period from July 2016 to July 2019.
Attorney-General and Minister for Legal Affairs, Hon. Claudette Joseph, said the matter against Sheldon Scott, who served as a senator from 2013 to 2016, is being pursued because he failed to stop using a mobile telephone that was issued to him in his capacity as Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister following the 2013 General Election.
“On demitting office, without authorisation or permission, and in breach of the conditions under which the mobile phone was issued, Mr Scott retained it and unlawfully used it for his personal or other purposes. During such unauthorised use, the Government continued to pay the service provider, Digicel, for all charges incurred. This state of affairs continued until July 2019 when the matter was brought to the public domain,” said Minister Joseph.
That matter became a scandal after political talk show host Kem Jones who is known to be associated with ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) disclosed on this programme in 2019 that the number used by Scott showed that for the months of April to June 2019 he incurred almost EC$70,000 in charges.
Scott, in a statement after the scandal broke, accepted full liability and responsibility for all charges incurred on the number that was assigned to him and promised to repay. However, Joseph told a news conference on Monday that no money was paid to government. “Despite the admissions and undertaking cited above, the record shows that to date, he made no repayment to the Government of Grenada. The sum in unauthorised charges unlawfully incurred by you, and paid by Government between 3rd July 2016 and 2nd July 2019, is $115,393.32.” Joseph disclosed that records at all government ministries show no evidence of repayment.
On Sunday, Scott was served with a pre-action protocol letter giving him 7 days to work out a formula for a 90-day repayment plan. “On behalf of the Government of Grenada, we hereby demand that within 90 days of receipt by you of this letter, you pay into the Treasury of Grenada, with due notice to the office of the Attorney General, the sum of $115,393.32 together with interest in the sum of $41,544.30, for a total of $156,937.62,” said Joseph as she read from her laptop.
Besides the demand notice, Joseph said that the Financial Intelligence Unit conducted an investigation, and the findings have been sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution for its criminal determination.
At the time, then-Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell said he was embarrassed by the development. An investigation conducted by the telecommunications provider said that it can safely conclude and publicly state that the leak of the government associate’s bill did not originate from within the operations of Digicel Grenada Ltd.
“When the allegations arose, we made it a priority to conduct an internal audit in order to establish the facts, ensure that there was no breach of information on our part and confirm that we did everything possible to protect the confidentiality of our customers. Our customers can continue to rely on us and to trust that we will treat their personal information with the strictest confidence,” said a statement from the company at the time.
