The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE reassignment of former Immigration Director Jack Thompson came at his own request, insisted Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell yesterday.

His statement came after widespread speculation that higher-ups in the PLP administration wanted Mr Thompson removed from the position he has held for the past four years.

However, Mr Mitchell said that the shuffle came due to Prime Minister Perry Christie’s desire to have an experienced pubic servant handle the organisation of the country’s 40th year of independence celebrations. Last week Mr Christie announced that Mr Thompson would assume the post of Chief Administrator with responsibility for those landmark events.

“I don’t want people,” Mr Mitchell said, “to be inferring any adverse policy implications as a result of his movement to what is a greater challenge and assignment. I think he has a bright future in the public service.

“When the administration changed he had a conversation with the Prime Minister saying that he wanted himself to move to another assignment. He had been here for several years. This is a position in which you can suffer early burn out (because of ) the volume of work that you have to do and the repetitive nature of it.

“Also not only is it challenging in a policy sense, but you are virtually under assault every day. People are calling you at all hours in the evening, in the night, when you are in the super market – ‘I need a work permit for this one and for that one’ – so I think at a certain point,  you want to move on to something else.”

For weeks before the official announcement of Mr Thompson’s new role, concern rose that Immigration could be getting a new Director, however Mr Mitchell squashed the rumours.

He said that in December the information was initiated by a “nasty site on the web that concocts stories.”

The Tribune received an email with the same information from ‘fnmundercover,’ which is said to have no affiliation with the official Free National Movement (FNM).

FNM leader, Dr Hubert Minnis, said the authors of the e-mail were part of a “renegade group” not connected to his party.