The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

LONG Island MP Adrian Gibson is making preparations to return to The Bahamas from abroad after police requested to speak with him as part of their ongoing investigations into the Water and Sewerage corporation, his attorney told The Tribune yesterday.

The former WSC executive chairman’s planned return to the country comes after police allegedly took several of his rental vehicles on Long Island into custody last week.

Yesterday, Mr Gibson’s attorney, Romona Farquharson-Seymour could not say if her client was being investigated by police nor speak to the scope of investigations into the corporation.

She only said she would know more details about the police probe into WSC after officials spoke with her client.

“I spoke with Mr Gibson very briefly yesterday (Wednesday) and I believe he’s making preparations to return from abroad so he is making preparations to return back to the capital. On Sunday past, the request was made by ACP (Leamond) Deleveaux that he wanted and called in the morning that he wanted to speak to Mr Gibson at 1 o’clock,” she said.

“However, Mr Gibson was not in the jurisdiction so then I received word yesterday either Tuesday or Wednesday from officer Deleveaux asking for me to please let him know when Mr Gibson returns so that he can have a sit down with him.”

 Earlier this month, The Tribune reported that police questioned WSC General Manager Elwood Donaldson for hours as part of their investigation. He was placed on leave in December.

 The attorney said she was told that the questions put to WSC workers and former contractors by police were just general ones.

 “I would know better and know more once he would’ve been interviewed by the police,” Mrs Farquharson-Seymour said. “That, of course, would give you an idea to when they may be going and there are so many other attorneys involved who have taken in clients of persons who they questioned. From workers, it stems from those who worked at the Water and Sewerage Corporation and self-contractors to those who received contracts. So, it’s a very broad and general group and from some of the reports, it was just general questions.”

 Mr Gibson’s tenure at the corporation was put in the spotlight last year after he was accused of awarding no bid contracts to a company that was allegedly owned by people he knew.

 However, he has since denied the allegations, saying the false claims were the sad reality of “silly season” and “mud-slinging” that have become features of Bahamian politics.

 Yesterday, Mrs Farquharson-Seymour told The Tribune she believed her client was being targeted for political reasons, a sentiment shared by many members of the Free National Movement party.

 However, when asked about the issue this week, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis dismissed accusations that his administration is on a political witch hunt regarding WSC.

 He also insisted that he will not interfere with ongoing investigations.

“All I’m aware of is the investigation is ongoing and they are deciding what they are going to do. It started off as an internal audit report that was presented to me. I turned it over to the Attorney General and the police investigations are continuing,” Prime Minister Davis told reporters.

 “We are different from the FNM,” he added. “We understand what witch-hunting is about because that’s their modus operandi. That’s not what we’re about.”