The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie last night confirmed that Renward Wells will address the nation on the Letter of Intent controversy.

Mr Christie confirmed that he told Mr Wells he would have to speak on the issue before the House breaks for the summer. He pointed to calls by the Opposition for a select committee on the issue.

Speaking on the sidelines of a PLP council meeting last night, Mr Christie said: “With new interventions being made about who’s done what, it changes the whole situation and I’ve just been receiving a briefing from the Deputy Prime Minister, who was acting in my place as to what took place.”

Earlier yesterday, at the National Emergency Management Agency’s 2014 Disaster Awareness Conference at the Melia hotel, Mr Christie had dodged questions over the Letter of Intent controversy involving Ministry of Works Parliamentary Secretary Renward Wells.

His reluctance to speak on the issue came nearly a month after he pledged to address the matter “imminently”.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Works Minister Philip “Brave” Davis told The Tribune that the “consequences will be known shortly” on the issue. He said “something” would be done soon after Mr Christie returned to the country. Mr Christie returned yesterday.

In late August, Mr Christie said he had “just received” information on the matter from Mr Davis and Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett and would analyse the reports over the following weekend.

Speaking to reporters hours after his return from a United Nations climate change summit in New York, Mr Christie had told The Tribune he expected to be briefed by Mr Davis before he could speak on the matter, adding that he also planned to discuss Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins. Last night, he confirmed he had now received that briefing.

Earlier this week, Mr Davis assured that consequences “will be known shortly” regarding Mr Wells’ signing of a multi-million dollar letter of intent with a waste management company that wants to construct a plant at the New Providence landfill.

Mr Davis spoke to The Tribune on Tuesday night at the opening ceremony of the NEMA conference, more than two months after the concerns were first raised over whether Mr Wells was authorised to sign the $650m letter of intent with Stellar Waste to Energy Management. Speculation continues to mount over who gave him the directive to do so.

Some have called for Mr Wells to resign or be fired over the matter.

Dr Rollins ignited more controversy in an NB12 news report that aired on Monday, charging that he would expose the identities of other people involved in the matter if his friend, Mr Wells, were fired over the issue.

PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts then told Dr Rollins to “put up or shut up” over his threats. Mr Roberts called the PLP newcomer “egomaniacal” and ordered the MP to “shut the hell up”.

Dr Rollins has since said he did not mean to suggest that he has information about corruption in the government, but only wanted the prime minister to deal with the matter.

At the NEMA conference, Mr Christie said he expected to discuss Dr Rollins’ recent actions and his adversarial stance against his own party at the PLP’s general council meeting last night.