Accountability
Redundant, or Removed? The Questions the Government Must Answer on Tannis-Abbott
Winfield Tannis-Abbott says his termination is political victimisation. The letter he released does not, on its own, prove that. What it does show is a sequence of events that deserves a full public explanation.
Winfield Tannis-Abbott, long known in St Vincent and the Grenadines and across the Caribbean for his work on HIV and AIDS, has publicly described his July 2026 termination as political victimisation. He posted the letter that ended his employment to Facebook, under the words “God is in control.”
The letter, issued on the letterhead of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Modern Port Operations Company (MPOC) and dated July 15, 2026, sets out a chain of events worth reading closely.
According to the letter, the Ministry of Health, Wellness, Environmental Health and Energy wrote on July 10, 2026, formally terminating Tannis-Abbott’s secondment with effect from July 15. He was then scheduled to revert to his substantive employment with the SVG Port Authority.
But the same letter states that, following what it calls a thorough review of the organisational structure and operational requirements, the substantive post he had held since April 1, 2018, the position of AIDS Coordinator for Public Sector Entities, was no longer required. On that basis the Port Authority declared the position redundant under the Protection of Employment Act, 2003, and terminated his employment effective July 17, 2026.
Two days separated his return to the post from the elimination of the post.
That timing is what raises eyebrows.
Not an invented role
This was not an obscure or invented position. Tannis-Abbott’s own professional record identifies him as the HIV and AIDS Coordinator for Public Sector Entities within the Ministry of Health’s remit. His standing in the field is regional: he served as interim chair and then chair of the Caribbean Regional Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (CRN+), has sat on boards of the Pan-Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), and was named among St Vincent and the Grenadines’ contributors in Harm Reduction International’s global report as recently as October 2024.
A post with that history does not usually vanish overnight.
Straightforward questions
So the Government and the Port Authority should be able to answer them plainly.
When was the organisational review conducted, and who conducted it?
When was it decided that the position was no longer necessary, and was that decision taken before or only after the Ministry moved to end the secondment?
Who now performs the HIV and AIDS coordination functions for the public sector that Tannis-Abbott performed?
Was the function abolished, transferred to another employee, renamed, or reorganised?
If the role genuinely ceased to exist for operational reasons, the documentation showing that should not be difficult to produce.
A legal distinction that matters
There is an important distinction to keep in view. Redundancy can be a lawful ground for ending employment. SVG’s Protection of Employment framework provides for severance and for protection against dismissal without good cause. But labelling a decision redundancy does not by itself settle whether the underlying decision was genuine, fair, or politically driven. That turns on the facts.
Tannis-Abbott has called this political victimisation. The letter does not, by itself, prove that claim. But it raises questions the NDP administration should answer.
He was seconded from his substantive position in April 2018. On July 10, 2026, the Ministry of Health moved to end that secondment. He was to return to his substantive post at the Port Authority. Then, almost immediately, he was told that the post he was returning to no longer existed and that he would be made redundant effective July 17.
Do not simply tell Vincentians there was an organisational review. Show us the review.
When did it begin? When did it conclude? Who recommended eliminating the position? What objective criteria were applied? And who is now carrying out the work formerly done by the AIDS Coordinator for Public Sector Entities?
If the position genuinely disappeared as part of a legitimate restructuring, publish the evidence and put the allegation to rest. But if the duties still exist, if someone else is now doing substantially the same work, or if the redundancy surfaced only after the decision was taken to end the secondment, the Government will have a great deal more to explain.
Redundancy is a lawful employment process. It should not become a convenient label for removing people an administration would rather not keep. That is why the documents and the chronology matter.
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