UPP calls for investigation into Arthur Nibbs Foundation

The opposition United Progressive Party is the latest to question the creation of the Arthur Nibbs Foundation and is calling for an investigation into the matter.
The party issued a press statement on Thursday saying that it investigated the foundation and found it is not a registered charity.
The UPP is questioning why, then, the foundation collected over $100,000 in building materials donated by the American University of Antigua (AUA) for the rebuilding of hurricane-damaged Barbuda.
The UPP political leader, Harold Lovell, told OBSERVER media that the development could have serious implications for the country.
He said the authorities should move with “haste” and begin an investigation into the matter.
“We are calling for an investigation because the whole thing smells of fraud, and it gives rise to suspicion, which only damages the Barbuda relief effort,” he said.
Lovell said all funds to Barbuda should be channeled through a registered entity.
“This is absolutely incredible,” Lovell said, saying that he has never heard of a minister of the government setting up a foundation in their name.
Although it is not illegal to set up a foundation, the UPP leader argued that in the circumstances of a disaster, no one should be collecting funds in a manner where there is no proper accounting mechanism.
“It is wrong because it exposes the member in a way that no one should give money to a body where there is no proper system,” he said.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)