Political activist with Grenada’s ruling party, Sheldon Scott is threatening legal action over what he claims is harassment from members of the public, after it became known that he had been costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorised cellphone charges.
Speaking on a daily radio programme, which he hosts for the New National Party (NNP) of Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, Scott publicly accepted responsibility for the exorbitant charges but also complained that his family has become the target of harassment.
The ex-government senator said he would seek legal remedy if the alleged harassment continues.
During Monday’s broadcast of the radio show, Scott announced that he wrote a letter to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Utilities, Patricia Clarke, accepting responsibility and offering to enter into a repayment arrangement.
Last week, Government’s Press Secretary, Philomena Robertson said at a news conference that “ineligible users” of State-financed mobile service had been ordered to repay the government.
The cellphone scandal broke a few weeks ago when invoices from mobile service provider Digicel, were made public by another political activist, Kem Jones on a radio talk show programme.
Jones focused on Scott and read from three bills sent to government by Digicel for cellphone payments in the last three months of the year.
The cellphone number used by Scott since he had been appointed a Senator in May 2013, showed charges amounting to about $70,000 between April and June alone.
The accrued charges were for data usage and far exceeded the prescribed amount under the government’s bundle packed with Digicel.
Addressing the matter before ending Monday’s broadcast, Scott confirmed that he had remained in possession of the service long after he was removed from his government post as a Parliamentary Secretary in June 2016 and admitted that he continued to use the number up until recently when the issue was made public.
Scott read the letter to the PS Clarke on live radio, which said, “I write to you regarding the matter of mobile account 1 473 534 5113 currently in the name of the Government of Grenada.
“I acknowledge this number (was) assigned to me in May 2013 in my capacity as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Sports and has been in my possession up to the end of my parliamentary stint up to the end of June 2016.
“Said number remained in my possession after June 2016 and as such, I accept full liability and responsibility for all charges incurred on said account Digicel number 1 473 534 5113 from July 2016 to the present date.”
It is not clear when Scott wrote the letter which also said, “Please note that I have discontinued the use of this number and I trust between myself and your ministry an amicable formula for the repayment and or payment of any sums paid or owed on said account can be reached within a reasonable timeframe”.
The Press Secretary had said government would be willing to work out payment plans for those who had been ordered to make restitution, however she did not give any names.
It is not clear what type of usage activity could have accounted for monthly data charges as high as $26,000.
However, experts in the field of mobile network services have said using a phone as a mobile hotspot to power other devices could cause a user to incur very high usage charges.
Sometime between 2013 and 2016, Government had been faced with a similar situation where outrageous charges were invoiced.
A former government official said at the time Prime Minister Mitchell had raised the issue at the level of Cabinet and Digicel was asked to forgive the debt.
Prime Minister Mitchell told Grenadians at a recent meeting in Montreal, Canada that he was embarrassed over the cellphone scandal but blamed “political mischief” for taking the issue into the public domain.