The United Progressive Party (UPP) has threatened to initiate legal action against the government over a lack of transparency and accountability on several issues.
“We are committed to getting to the bottom of how your taxpayer funds are spent in this country,” stated the party’s Public Relations Officer, Damani Tabor.
The main issue in question revolves around St John’s Rural West MP Richard Lewis’ inquiry into the sale of a Friar’s Hill Road property to Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s son, Gaston Browne III.
Lewis has been demanding answers for months regarding the decision to sell the property, formerly owned by the American University of Antigua (AUA), which was later rented for $1 per month to the Ministry of Housing and Lands, creating a perception of nepotism.
“The Ministries are not answering, neither Works nor Finance or National Housing,” Tabor said.
“And WIOC says, well despite government nominating half our board members and setting us up and originally owning 51%, we are not substantially controlled by government, so that is what the CEO said.”
Lewis filed a freedom of information request to the West Indies Oil Company (WIOC), seeking a copy of the meeting minutes where the sale of the property was discussed, to determine whether Minister of Housing and Lands, Maria Browne, had recused herself from the decision.
However, WIOC CEO Gregory Georges claimed that as a private organisation, the company is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act’s requirements to divulge information.
Undeterred, Lewis has also sent Freedom of Information requests to the Ministries of Finance, Works, Housing, and Lands, seeking answers related to the property sale and other agreements that have not been made public.
“I’m confident that Richard Lewis will sue the government if it comes to that,” Tabor warned.
Tabor also mentioned MP Algernon Watts’ plan to file a Freedom of Information request related to the Bethesda water plant and other undisclosed agreements.
“If they don’t answer, he’ll sue them too,” Tabor stated.
The UPP’s commitment to seeking transparency and accountability is driven by their desire to uncover the truth about how taxpayer funds are being spent in the country. “
“You must prove what the thing is today, and how much benefit your son would have derived. What is so hard in understanding that?” Tabor questioned.
