St John’s Rural West MP Richard Lewis said that he is reviewing the next steps with his lawyers to obtain the information relating to his inquiry into the sale of the Friar’s Hill Road property to Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s son.
For months, MP Lewis has been demanding answers into the decision to sell the property—formerly owned by American University of Antigua (AUA)—to Gaston Browne III which he believes created the perception of nepotism after the property was later rented for $1 per month to the Ministry of Housing and Lands.
In his freedom of information request to WIOC, MP Lewis requested a copy of the minutes of the meeting where the sale of the property was discussed, to determine whether Minister of Housing and Lands Maria Browne had recused herself from the decision.
According to his letter, MP Lewis said that with the government owning just around 45 percent of the shares in the company, WIOC, in his view, falls under the act as a public authority.
However, West Indies Oil Company (WIOC) CEO Gregory Georges has told MP Lewis that considering that the company is registered as a private organisation, it does not fall under the provisions of the act and does not have the same requirements to divulge information.
MP Lewis said that he is not giving up on seeking the information he wants, as he has also sent freedom of information requests to the Ministry of Finance, Works, Housing and Lands.
“At the end of the day, he’s going to have to answer to the people of Antigua and Barbuda … if you know that there’s nothing there, just come clean and tell the people everything,” Lewis said.