The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIAL Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said while the former Christie administration considered Town Centre Mall for the General Post Office’s relocation, the party stepped away from the decision as the costs associated with the move would not have been a prudent expenditure of public funds.

For this reason, he said the Christie administration controversially decided to purchase the Independence Drive Shopping Centre, viewing it as an acquisition that would have resulted in the government owning the property. It would ultimately cost less than retrofitting the mall, renovating it and then renting it, according to Mr Davis.

He further questioned what the government calls a “concessionary” $12 per square foot rate at which it will rent Town Centre Mall, considering the building has been beleaguered for years with a large vacancy.

Mr Davis said it is hard to see it as a concession when the owners weren’t previously making money for the empty portions of the mall. He said it is likely this is not the true cost to be paid.

Asked whether Cabinet minister Brent Symonette, part-owner of the mall, should resign over the issue, Mr Davis said if anything the entire government needed to step down because it was a decision of the Cabinet. He attributed this decision to the government’s “arrogance and hypocrisy”.

The House of Assembly will debate a resolution to rent portions of Town Centre Mall this week.

Last week, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis defended leasing the mall, insisting the process will be transparent.

“It’s not a question of whether he (Mr Symonette) should resign over this, it’s a question of whether it’s the right decision being taken by them because obviously it’s a decision of the Cabinet,” the Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP said when he was contacted. “If anything, the government should resign over the whole bloody thing as opposed to him because obviously this is something they have all agreed upon.

“First of all, he needs to get permission from the House to be able to enter into it then otherwise he has to resign. If he doesn’t get the permission of the House to do it then he should resign, it’s automatic exemption in article 49 of the Constitution.”

Regarding the PLP’s strategy for the General Post Office, Mr Davis said: “Yes we considered that, but when we were considering it, Brent Symonette was a retired politician. Don’t forget he retired from politics. He was a retired politician, not a member of Parliament and not in the Cabinet.

“When we looked at the cost of entering into an arrangement to relocate the post office there, which included having to retrofit the entire property to suit the post office, that cost when you add that to what rentals you had to pay, would not have been a prudent expenditure of public funds. That’s why we looked at alternate accommodations and we came up with the shopping centre because at the end of the day we would have owned that property. We would have renovated it and it would have cost us less than retrofitting Town Centre mall, renovating it and renting it.”

As for the true cost of the renting the property, Mr Davis said he believed there would be other fees associated with the TCM rental.

“Is there any other cost associated with it, like the cam charges (common area maintenance)? What other costs are there? You might find another figure because we don’t have all the numbers, we don’t know how much to renovate or whether the government is responsible for the air-conditioning, the common areas, security for the building etc. So there are a lot of questions they have to answer.”

His remarks came days after former PLP member of Parliament George Smith said any sitting Cabinet minister who wants to enjoy the benefits of receiving state contracts should resign his seat to avoid conflicts of interest.

Mr Smith told The Tribune last week the government’s resolution, in his view, was a “misuse of the government’s majority at Parliament and an attempt to make something morally acceptable when it is not.”

According to the resolution, the government intends to rent portions of the mall at $12 per sq ft.

Town Centre Mall, at 203,000 sq ft, was once listed for sale at a cost of $16m.