Calls being made for Marshall not to be appointed DCG

Vincentians at home and abroad will have to wait to see if Sehon Marshall will be confirmed as the deputy consul general (DCG) of St Vincent and the Grenadines in New York.

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves yesterday remained tight-lipped about whether Marshall would be confirmed, following calls that have been made by some persons,{{more}} mainly in the diaspora, for Marshall not to be sent to New York to fill the diplomatic position.

SEARCHLIGHT last week broke the story that Marshall, a former co-host on the Morning Scoop programme on Star Radio, had been recommended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fill the position effective September 1.

However, since then, there have been protests by some that the recent graduate in International Relations had recently made insensitive comments about Vincentians living in the diaspora and therefore was unsuitable for such a posting.

On August 29, 2014, while on a radio programme, Marshall, making the point that the quality of life of Vincentians was better under the Unity Labour Party (ULP) government of Dr Ralph Gonsalves than it was under the New Democratic Party, said: “…I used to be a teacher in this country; I started teaching in 1991, and the number of teachers in North Leeward, and I can call names, not just teachers, policemen, nurses; I mean, these were back in the day, reputable jobs. I want you to tell me since the ULP has taken over in 2001, which teacher, which nurse or which policeman has resigned his or her job and gone America to babysit people children or walk people dog? That was the situation under which we existed. People resigned their government safe jobs to go walk dog and be nannies. When is the last time that happened? So, I can talk about the quality of life of people in St Vincent and the Grenadines.”

When asked yesterday if Marshall would be made to apologize and if his appointment as DCG will go through, Gonsalves declined to answer, except to say that he had had a telephone conversation with Marshall on Sunday evening “about the bundle of issues in the public domain.

“And I don’t want to say anything other than that.”

When pressed about if Marshall would be going forward as DCG, he said, “We will see.”

The last person to hold the post of deputy consul general at the Consulate in New York was Edson Augustus, who was recalled in February this year.