The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

PLANS to purchase the former City Markets office on East-West Highway have stalled pending further assessment, according to Labour Minister Shane Gibson yesterday.

Mr Gibson said the building was being considered for use by the Customs department, which required additional warehouse space.

“We have not submitted a bid yet,” he said, “because the first thing we wanted to do was to get an appraisal and then after the appraisal we will look at it and see whether we will bid on the building.

“We were supposed to do an appraisal, but we couldn’t get access. I’m not sure if the appraisal was completed yet that’s one of the reasons why (the building’s purchase) has stalled as far as we’re concerned.”

Mr Gibson said he could not say whether or not City Market Pension Fund was in trouble despite the cries of former employees, many of whom have not received severance pay, benefits and pension fund money due to them.

“I can’t answer that,” he said, “I’m not a part of it. I’m not saying that the fund is fine or not fine, all I’m saying is that we were trying to assist the process, because we were also in need of a building so it’s not that we were just trying to assist (City Market). “We were in need and because they needed help we figured we’d bring the two of those together and we’d purchase the building once government could use it and once it was able to be purchased at a good price.”

NIB’s now suspended director, Algernon Cargill, revealed to Tribune Business last month that the board was considering whether to make an offer to acquire the building which could benefit the former supermarket chain’s pension beneficiaries.

Yesterday, Mr Gibson brushed off criticisms made by former Labour Minister Dion Foulkes that he did not do more to assist former City Markets employees.

Mr Gibson said: “This is not a government negotiation, we were just trying to step in the middle of the process to see how we could assist. This matter was really before the courts in Freeport. The courts gave judgment already and despite the fact that they gave judgment some persons have still not been able to be paid and we were really just trying to see how we could use our influence to bring the matter to a conclusion.”

In a press statement yesterday, Mr Foulkes called on the government to provide severance pay for the workers, and then legally pursue the owners of City Market.

Mr Gibson said: “(Foulkes) can say that now because he’s out of (parliament). If it was progressing then it should have been concluded. We’ve been in office now since May, they were in office for a lot longer than that and they didn’t have the matter solved.

He added: “Everything now they (FNM) looking say they had it in train, it was in the process, but the records will show different.”