By Vina Frederick

Trouble and Keith Mondesir appear to be joined at the hip. Back in April 2002, Mondesir was convicted on an assault charge brought by a Gros Islet woman and fined $500 in a local court “to be paid forthwith, in default three months hard labour.”

Also in 2000, he found himself at the center of yet another controversy involving the law. Following an investigation of charges that Mondesir had sold personal information pertaining to 15,729 patients to sellers of optical products, a Canadian ombudsman had recommended that action be taken against Mondesir. He pleaded guilty.

In May 2007, Keith Mondesir, now a security minister in the government of St Lucia, found himself in a highly publicized controversy over alleged non-payment of rent to the tune of $26,000. The claim was made by a Kittitian, whose premises Mondesir used as his office. Mr Mondesir, recently re-appointed health minister, is once more in hot water. The staff of his ministry has petitioned prime minister Stephenson King for his removal.

According to the petition trouble with the ministry staff began from the time Mondesir was appointed. The matter came to a head this week when Mondesir publicly complained that his permanent secretary Darrel Montrope had disobeyed his orders to attend a nurses’ meeting  on his minister’s absence. Moreover, that it was not the first time Montrope had disobeyed a direct order. On Thursday a letter from health ministry staff was read by Rick Wayne on his TALK program.

“It is with much disgust, anger and disbelief that I write this email,” it began. Among the allegations: “The minister has done everything in his power to undermine and frustrate Darrel Montrope. He hardly speaks to him and uses a middleman to communicate with his PS. He greets no one in the ministry.

“All heads of the department report directly to Mr Montrope, however, because of the minister’s lack of respect for the PS’s post he would convene meetings with the heads and would not inform the PS. This not how it is supposed to be.” The e-mail further stated: “From the day the minister joined the ministry he made it clear that he does not want to work with any St Lucia Labour Party supporter and would get rid of the PS as well as the assistant secretary—who was Dr Kenny Anthony’s secretary.

 “He also stated that the package which the PM offered him for accepting the post of minister of health included the liberty to change his PS and any other member of staff at will. The Diabetic and Hypertensive Association are also having problems with Mr Mondesir. He has ignored them completely. “We at the ministry are prepared to stand up against all politicians who feel they can walk all over public servants because they feel that all power lies in their hands.

 “We have sent a petition to the PM asking for an apology from Mr Mondesir and requesting that he be removed from this ministry. We find it very difficult to work with someone who has such a mentality.” The union representing the staff, Civil Service Association, has expressed concern over the high handed manner, disrespect and disregard for protocol in the public service exhibited by the minister in his interference with management and staff of that ministry.

CSA president Joseph Dosserie in an interview with the STAR said the information reaching the union suggests that the minister is at logger-heads with his permanent secretary and the employees are caught in the middle. Dosserie stated further that Mr Mondesir was quoted as saying he will get rid of the PS. The CSA president called on prime minister Stephenson King to intervene in the situation. In the meantime, the union is in discussion with the staff in an effort to seek ways of redressing the situation.

Yesterday, Straight Up host Claudius Francis weighed in on the matter: “If Mondesir has his way and gets Montrope removed as his PS who is going to take his place? And wouldn’t that person be treated the same way? Everybody cannot be wrong and Mondesir right. Something has got to be wrong with Mondesir.”

He went on: “The Civil Service Association has written the prime minister demanding that something be done about Mondesir’s insult to the public service. The staff of the ministry of health have written a letter and signed a petition demanding an apology from Mondesir. The petition goes further and demands the prime minister remove Mondesir from the portfolio of health. They do not want to work with him. If the prime minister cannot discipline Mondesir, then he should resign.”