Minister says nothing untoward about concessions to PM’s son

 
A customs duty waiver granted by the Cabinet of Antigua & Barbuda to Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s son has pointed to a conflict of interest for the prime minister if he was involved in the decision – something he has not disclosed.
However, when asked if the prime minister recused himself from the January 11 session of Cabinet at which the wavier decision was made, the Minister of Information Melford Nicholas said he could not remember.
Nicholas was however, adamant that Browne “would” have recused himself once such a matter arose given the following “rule of thumb” which the minister of information espoused as Cabinet members’ sworn-to code of conduct:
“The [minister] involved would be required to say that there is a personal or family interest and recuse themselves from taking part in that decision.”
Nicholas was speaking to OBSERVER media on the sidelines of last week’s post-Cabinet press conference. When Browne was contacted via Whatsapp yesterday he dismissed the question of whether he recused himself saying, “Get a life.”
 
(More in today’s Daily Observer)