The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE letters that contradict his claims that the Nassau Airport Development’s former board of directors was fired by the Minnis administration over the write-off of $1.2m of $3.3m in rental fees of an airport tenant, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar yesterday said he will not “budge an inch” from accusations he made regarding the matter last week in Parliament.

Meanwhile, Official Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday these remarks among other assertions were “reckless,” made with a view to “scandalise” the board and the tenant and “were not true”.

He further argued that the $1.2m write-off to the tenant was “not fair” considering the circumstances surrounding the dispute.

Yesterday, when Mr D’Aguilar was questioned by the press over his account of the situation regarding PatMor Holdings and its $3.3 rental dispute with NAD, the minister was defiant.

Asked if he stood by the claims and maintained that the board was fired despite the former board chairman saying most, if not all, of the board members submitted letters of resignations on May 16, the minister replied: “Everything I said is in the Hansard. I stand by what I said. I don’t budge an inch.”

Last week Mr D’Aguilar asserted that an airport tenant was allowed to rack up a rental debt over five years under the Christie administration and was allowed to remain delinquent due to “direct intervention by the political directorate.”

While the minister did not name the tenant in the House of Assembly last week, he further claimed that she approached NAD’s board of directors two months before the general election and was allowed to enter into an agreement to “write off” $1.2m of this debt on the condition that she give up one store and pay her balance. He suggested that this was done as a personal favour to the tenant because she was well-connected politically. The minister explained that this was the reason NAD’s board was dismissed shortly after the Free National Movement won the May 10 general election.

While in the House, he did not refer to the additional terms of the tenant’s write off neither did he go into the terms of PatMor’s settlement agreement.

Speaking during the start of the afternoon sitting of Parliament, Mr Davis sought to distance the former Progressive Liberal Party from certain parts of the agreement.

He said: “So the FNM government who granted to that tenant four outlets, that tenant having successfully complied with the request for proposal being awarded the four outlets by the FNM government. It was not offered as any one store. And so, it is very reckless in the observations.

“Further, Mr Speaker, she then again under the FNM government was asked to assume two more shops that was in the name of some other entity that she at their request assumed. She ended up with six (shops).

“But again, the PLP government had nothing to do with it.

“It was also said by the minister that she paid nothing under the PLP government. Again, not true and it is being repeated from the seat of members opposite.

“You who are in the vineyard of the law please hold your ministers accountable to tell the truth.”

Mr Davis continued: “Now when the FNM was relieved of their responsibilities as we were in 2007, the new board inherited the problems because the tenant had been making complaints and had joined in a dispute with NAD over two things.

“One she raised a point that she was being discriminated against. She raised a point that her assuming the two stores had a challenge with it that involved, and I’m going to let them find this out, perhaps a conflict of interest with an employee of NAD.

“There was another issue and that was that NAD fees and rent were predicated upon their undertaking that 3.8m travellers would be passing through the airport and that being the case the rent was pegged at 38 per cent. NAD acknowledged that they never met their undertaking, but yet still they continued to charge the 38 per cent and continued to charge others, 10 per cent. So that was a dispute that they were handling, they were dealing with it.

“And if the minister was responsible enough he would not have come in here to say that she paid nothing under the PLP administration.”

Mr Davis said the tenant had been paying 10 per cent as were other tenants.

“The write off in the circumstances of the case was not unfair because if you look at the whole circumstances of the case. I still think the tenant was hard done in the arrangement and the board of NAD perhaps ought to have done her better.

“But that’s the case and she has lived up to the arrangement despite what I would call onerous positions in which they took.

“And then he fired the board? Mr Speaker there was no firing of the board and the correspondence speaks to that,” Mr Davis also said.

On Sunday, former NAD and Airport Authority Chairman Anthony McKinney released his resignation letter and other correspondence.

A letter dated May 16, 2017 and sent to both Mr D’Aguilar and Transport and Local Government Minister Frankie Campbell from Mr McKinney read: “As you are aware, I was first appointed for one year to act as chairman of the Airport Authority on July 1, 2012. This appointment, by inference, meant that I would also act as chair of the Nassau Airport Development Company Limited. As of today, those appointments continue.

“Technically, my current term as chairman of the above boards is due to expire on June 30, 2017, however, protocol dictates that I should tender my resignation from both boards at this time as my appointments were made by another minister and executive.”

On May 17, Mr Campbell replied that he received Mr McKinney’s previous letter, adding that the matter was discussed with Mr D’Aguilar and they both agreed that he should continue as chairman of the board.

Later, on June 8, Mr McKinney tendered his resignation with immediate effect.