Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling.
PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling, representing Soualiga Action Movement (SAM), has responded to recent public statements by Nation, Opportunity and Wealth (NOW) Member of Parliament (MP) Lyndon Lewis, stating that his concerns are based on an incorrect understanding of the facts and legal framework.
“Let me start with something simple,” Tackling said. “The questions MP Lewis has been talking about in the press have not actually reached my office yet. They will be answered in full once they come through the proper channel in Parliament. But because the narrative being advanced in public right now is wrong, a few things need to be said straight away.”
Addressing the issue of Chief of Police Carl John serving as Acting Secretary-General at the Ministry of Justice, Tackling clarified that no formal appointment to a separate position had taken place. “The Chief of Police has not been ‘appointed’ to a separate post of Secretary-General,” she stated. “What is at issue is a temporary stand-in arrangement to ensure continuity of the Ministry when the Secretary-General is absent or unavailable.”
She emphasised that such arrangements are provided for under Article 25 of the Civil Servants Ordinance. “‘Acting Secretary-General’ is not a job. It is not a position that gets posted, advertised, or filled through a recruitment process. It is simply the rule for who steps in on days when the Secretary-General is away,” Tackling explained, adding that the arrangement ensures that “someone can sign papers and keep the work of government moving.”
On the allegation of a conflict of interest, the Minister rejected the claim outright. “A conflict of interest arises when someone ends up in a position to supervise themselves or make decisions about their own position. That is not the situation here, and it never has been,” she said. “The Chief of Police does not report to the Secretary-General. Under the law, both roles operate on separate tracks that lead to the Minister.”
Minister Tackling stressed that all substantive decisions remain under ministerial authority. “Nothing of substance moves in this ministry without my knowledge and my authorisation. That is how the system is designed, and that is how it is being run.”
She added that the designation of the Chief of Police as stand-in was made within the legal framework and with full responsibility. “Mr. John has my confidence. He has served as Chief of Police since 2015 and has played a constructive role in bringing cohesion to the Ministry,” she said.
The Minister also questioned the basis of Lewis’ criticism, given his background. “MP Lewis is a former Minister of Justice and a former police officer. A misunderstanding of this basic structure from someone with his background is difficult to explain as an honest mistake,” Tackling stated, adding that the public is “entitled to ask whether the framework is being misrepresented to manufacture a controversy.”
According to Tackling, the arrangement itself is neither new nor unusual. “For years, under several different governments, the role of acting Secretary-General has been filled by whichever service head within the ministry made sense at the time,” she said. “None of this was treated as a conflict of interest at the time.”
She pointed out that similar arrangements existed under previous ministers, including during Lewis’ own tenure. “If the same arrangement was acceptable then, it cannot suddenly become a scandal now. The arrangement has not changed. The person raising the issue has,” Tackling said.
While welcoming oversight, the Minister cautioned against selective criticism. “Scrutiny only means something when the same rules are applied to everyone. Raising an alarm about something that was acceptable when you were the one doing it is not scrutiny. It is politics.”
Tackling concluded by reiterating her commitment to transparency. “When MP Lewis’s questions reach my desk through Parliament, they will be answered fully and on the record,” she said.
