The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Minister of Tourism yesterday 'doubled down' on criticism of the former Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) Board, saying other tenants were "furious" over one store owner's perceived favourable treatment.

Dionisio D'Aguilar, while modifying his stance slightly, continued to insist it was "outrageous" and "egregious" that Patricia Mortimer, and her PatMor Group of Companies, had accumulated $2.1 million in unpaid rent.

And he seized on comments made by ex-prime minister, Perry Christie, as evidence that there had been direct interference by the former administration at the highest levels to assist Ms Mortimer.

Mr Christie, in a media interview last Friday, said he had sought to "protect a black Bahamian woman" in Ms Mortimer, although he denied seeking to influence or coerce NAD into a particular decision on the matter.

Asked whether this was evidence of political interference by the former administration, Mr D'Aguilar replied: "Absolutely they did. It's not a black Bahamian woman. It's got nothing to do with colour of the skin, or gender and sex of the person....."

He again argued that Ms Mortimer received a favourable deal from the NAD Board because of her connections to the former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government, and questioned whether other LPIA tenants - should they have fallen into her situation - would have received a similar agreement.

"All of the other tenants at LPIA are furious someone was afforded this privilege and they were not," Mr D'Aguilar told Tribune Business. "NAD was set up to avoid this kind of political interference. It should not have been an issue for him [Mr Christie].

"It's a business. Let the business operate as it should. There's so much meddling in these businesses that causes them to fail. There is political meddling all the time, and this is why these government corporations are in the predicament they are in.

"Enough of these favours and deals. Let's run it as it should be run in terms of NAD. Let NAD deal with it as it should," the Minister continued.

"The Bahamian people want to know why it was allowed to grow to $2.1 million. It's not right; just not right. Enough of this 'I know this person, so I will get a special arrangement. It's wrong."

Wayne Munroe QC, Ms Mortimer's attorney, did not respond to a Tribune Business message left for him yesterday seeking comment.

However, he last week told this newspaper on Ms Mortimer's behalf that the $2.1 million central to Mr D'Aguilar's charges related to a 'disputed sum', meaning rental payments for which his client believed she was being over-charged.

Mr Munroe said Ms Mortimer felt she was paying almost four times' as much as other LPIA tenants, and explained: "NAD started calculating our client's rent as 38 per cent of gross profit based on a projection of a throughput of 3.8 million travellers. The actual throughput fell far short of the projections and our client filed a complaint with NAD.

"NAD agreed to revisit the matter and negotiations followed. For context, NAD was at this time charging other tenants at a rate of 10 per cent of gross profits."

Mr Munroe said Ms Mortimer sought equal treatment for her stores, and "NAD eventually agreed that it was so after protracted negotiations. In the meantime they had continued to charge rent at 38 per cent of gross profits.

"At all material times our client paid rent at the rate of 10 per cent as it understood applied," he added. "NAD added interest on the difference and, together with that difference, this accounts for the sum said to be owed as arrears.

"It should be obvious that there would be no reasonable justification for NAD discriminating by charging our client rent at a rate almost four times higher than everyone else."

Mr D'Aguilar, though, appears unwilling to let the matter rest, telling Tribune Business: "Why was that particular tenant, even if she disagreed with a certain portion of the rent, allowed to have a $2.1 million receivable when none of the other tenants at that particular facility had a receivable?

"And why was a sum that huge allowed to accumulate? It's egregious. Why didn't the former Board take the necessary steps to collect on the outstanding sum, rather than allow it to accumulate over the years to $2.1 million? There's a $2.1 million receivable, which is outrageous."

Mr D'Aguilar accused the now-Opposition PLP of trying to distract the public's attention from this issue by challenging assertions that the former Board was fired/dismissed, and giving numerous explanations for how the $2.1 million 'receivable' accrued.

He suggested that the impassioned defence of Ms Mortimer and the NAD Board by numerous high-level PLP politicians showed he had "hit a nerve", and challenged his opponents to heed comments by Chester Cooper, Raynard Rigby and Alfred Sears.

"We've got to get beyond this. Stop protecting people," Mr D'Aguilar said.

The Minister, though, said he would "agree to disagree" with Ms Mortimer and Mr Munroe on the $1.2 million in rental arrears that the former Board wrote-off as part of its deal with the businesswoman.

"They have their point of view, I have my point of view," he added.

Mr Munroe last week explained how the $1.2 million 'write-off' related to another LPIA tenant, whose obligations Ms Mortimer had inherited after she provided a guarantee to back them.

"Tyrone Nabbie's Kafe Kalik trademark restaurants won the restaurant leases, and he opened his trademarked restaurant," the QC wrote to Tribune Business.

"Our client, having guaranteed certain obligations of Mr Nabbie's company, was forced to step in when Mr Nabbie fell into arrears with his rent.

"Our client took an assignment and transfer of Mr Nabbie's shares in his company," Mr Munroe added. "She was made to pay a sum in the low to middle 'six figures' as arrears on Mr Nabbie's operation. It is to be noted that $1 million of the arrears said to have been owed by our client is in relation to arrears from Mr Nabbie's operations before our client took over."

Mr Munroe said this all occurred under the former Ingraham administration, while the tender to operate news agent outlets at LPIA had required bidders to bid on four locations. As a result, the QC said there was "nothing sinister" about Ms Mortimer operating multiple sites - as suggested by Mr D'Aguilar previously - because this had been a requirement of the Request for Proposal (RFP).

The RFP, and Nabbie rental arrears, both occurred when an FNM administration was in power, which Mr Munroe said showed allegations of political favouritism towards his client were "erroneous".

He added that NAD's records would also show that Ms Mortimer had paid $5 million in rent between 2012-2017, refuting another of Mr D'Aguilar's claims.