The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

ALGERNON Cargill, suspended NIB Director, has been told to either report to the Board within the next few days or risk not having the opportunity to defend himself against allegations which may not be in his best interest.

NIB Minister Shane Gibson denied that Mr Cargill and his legal team were being treated unfairly as they were only given two weeks to analyse the reports which took months to compile. He said Mr Cargill answered every allegation levied against him by fired Board Chairman Greg Moss in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court. Therefore, he said, Mr Cargill has had ample time.

Mr Cargill has between now and May 21 to sit with NIB representatives, lawyers, and auditors to clarify certain “adverse findings.”

“He is still an employee of the Board,” Mr Gibson said, “and still being paid. We wrote him and asked him to attend a meeting. He said he was busy and we wrote him back and asked him to attend a meeting on the 21st of May.

“He is an employee of National Insurance and either he show up on the 21st or we will make a decision in his absence.”

But there could be some trouble for officials in maintaining the Minister’s demand.

According to letters sent by Sears & Co, Cargill’s legal representatives, he will be unavailable within the set time frame as he is expected to be attend his son’s graduation in the United States. The Cargill team want the meeting delayed until June 24. 

Mr Gibson had for sometime insisted that it was Mr Cargill who refused to meet with the auditors which created some set backs and a delay in the auditors work.

However, a Grant Thornton e-mail which was referred to by Mr Cargill’s attorney Alfred Sears in a previous Tribune interview, said otherwise.

“We are prepared to meet with your client for him to ask any questions that he has. We have no questions for Mr Cargill at this time to complete this phase of our report,” said the Grant Thornton e-mail.

Officials have also refused to honour certain conditions under which Mr Cargill would be prepared to meet. They included that the meeting be recorded by a certified stenographer and be held in a neutral location other than at NIB.

A reply sent on May 6 by Board Chairman Rev Dr James Moultrie to Mr Cargill’s lawyer, said: “The several conditions you outlined as pre-conditions for your client to meet with the board are not agreed. The proposed meeting is simply a meeting between employer and employee. Given the fact that the Board’s external attorneys will be in attendance and your client’s attorneys are also invited.

“Your request that the meeting be recorded by a qualified stenographer is not agreed. The Board’s secretary will record the meeting as is the usual practice. The request for the meeting to be held at a neutral location is also not agreed.”

The Tribune contacted Mr Sears for comment, but he asked to be allowed time to familiarise himself with the report.