Don’t blame me – PM

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves says that he is not to be blamed for not granting approval for any member of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force(RSVGPF) to receive training.{{more}}

“If anybody applies to go on any course and they don’t get approval, don’t blame me … it didn’t reach me. Once it reaches me, I say ‘yes’”, the prime minister said.

He added that once an application reaches his desk, he will approve it and ensure that the resources are there for the officers to receive their training.

Gonsalves, however, explained that there was only one occasion on which he denied an officer an opportunity to receive training.

He explained that an application had come in for Keith Miller, the current Commissioner of Police; he was, however, holding the rank of Station Sergeant then.

The prime minister further explained that the application came in for a request for Miller to travel to Taiwan on a three-week course.

However, from a previous conversation, Gonsalves said that Miller had indicated that he (Miller) was going to soon be pursuing a law degree and that he would be leaving to begin studies in that field shortly.

So, the application was rejected, the prime minister said, adding that that was the only instance where he denied an officer permission to receive training.

“That is the only occasion, absolutely the only occasion,” Gonsalves said.

He said that his administration has placed a lot of emphasis on training for the members of the police force and the force has been sending officers on training courses on an ongoing basis.(DD)