“Wait and see” approach on Asot’s political future

Cabinet will maintain its “wait and see” approach as it relates to the political future of Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) Member of Parliament (MP) Asot Michael.
Lionel “Max” Hurst, chief of staff in the Office of the Prime Minister, said Cabinet’s view was that while Michael had been accused of an act of criminality outside of Antigua and Barbuda and maybe even emanating from Antigua and Barbuda, to date, there has been no charges filed against him.
“No evidence has been provided that is so strong, that it is evident that he is likely to be found guilty, and based on the last discussion that was held, Cabinet prefers kind of a wait and see approach. We don’t want to be accused of judging him on the basis of newspaper articles and the likes,” Hurst said on OBSERVER Radio yesterday.
The chief of staff further stated that it would not be reasonable for anyone to suggest that someone should be declared guilty of an offence when the supporting evidence is not available.
“What we do know is that there was an attempt on his part to solicit funding but it never occurred. The actual act of attempting to solicit is indeed contrary to law, but the evidence has not been presented,” Hurst said.
However, just last week, the Integrity Commission stated in a release that there were grounds to open an investigation into Michael which would fall under the Integrity in Public Life Act and the Prevention of Corruption Act, both enacted in 2004.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)