Former secretary: Eustace is a hard man to deal with

Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace is unrepentant about his decision to fire his personal secretary, the dismissed woman, Rishatta Nicholls told SEARCHLIGHT this week.{{more}}

Nicholls, speaking to SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday said that her former boss is a strong- headed individual, who knew he would not have won the hearing against him, but refused to withdraw his appeal.

“People don’t understand it is difficult to deal with Arnhim. It is difficult to deal with him. If you are not suitably strong you could drop stone dead or end up in jail because you will do something that you would regret,” the candid Nicholls said.

The 12-year professional relationship came to an end last March, when Eustace, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), gave Nicholls her walking papers after he claimed that she failed to prepare the vote book, misused contributions donated to the Elwardo Lynch funds, and because he had lost confidence in her.    

Eustace was taken before a hearing officer in the Labour Department, who ruled in September last year that he should pay $16,199.99 for her years of service, and an appeals tribunal upheld this decision last week.

Nicholls claims that her ex-employer is not the quiet, calm, “Mr Clean” individual that he is being portrayed as by most supporters, but had a tendency to get annoyed easily, and that she was usually the one to get him to leave some matters alone.

“I pray for the man. I used to talk to the man, you would swear that I am older than him. I actually see him as somebody you had loved as a father, so I never used to bother up myself.

“Sometimes I wonder if they put him so, because it doesn’t make any sense to me.”

When asked why there was such a sound support to the former prime minister, Nicholls insisted that most persons are sticking to traditions, thinking that their political leader “is more righteous than anybody else,” while others are supporting Eustace for their own personal and political accomplishments.

Nicholls further added that Eustace and the NDP are convinced that elections would have been called last year, but are now convinced that when it is called they would have the victory.

“Eustace has this notion in his mind… he still thinks he is in 2001 and he can still call elections…. So they had this notion where election would have been called in 2013 because they perceived that they were in the same 8-7 situation, and they had to cut short their government…. And the thing is they swear they are going to win because they campaigning against themselves. Nobody campaigning yet so they figure they going to win.

“Sir James (Mitchell) said it and has always said it: ‘Elections are won and lost on election day….’

“Traditions… are fading away… and the young people don’t care if Sunday fall on Friday.”

Stating that she has given up on her former boss, Nicholls said that she had fought with him for years for him to realize that they were in ‘new times’ but that he didn’t get it.

“He needs to get with the programme and cut out the stupidness.”