The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

OPPOSITION leader Philip “Brave” Davis has called for Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ resignation insisting his administration’s handling of the General Post Office’s move to the Town Centre Mall has been overshadowed by falsehoods.

The Progressive Liberal Party leader further questioned whether former Cabinet minister Brent Symonette, who is part owner of the mall, solely re-entered politics to acquire a lease agreement with the government for this building. Mr Symonette, St Anne’s MP, resigned from Cabinet earlier this month.

Mr Davis contended that along every step of the way the government gave information regarding the post office that did not paint a true picture of the situation.

He said by now, the prime minister should have already spoken publicly to correct public perception of the situation.

This comes after The Tribune reported on Friday that the government’s decision to abandon the Phil’s Food Services building on Gladstone Road was not supported by the assessment of independent engineers contracted to evaluate the structure.

Basil McIntosh, an engineer with decades of experience, told this newspaper the Phil’s building was “in very good condition” and “could be safely utilised for approximately another 20 to 25 years without any major maintenance work.

“This whole transaction is just wrapped up in lies,” Mr Davis said yesterday when he was contacted. “. . .They lied to the Bahamian people and as I’ve always warned them, no lie lasts forever. The truth comes out somehow. It’s like water always finds its level, the truth will always come out to the public.

“He (Dr Minnis) ought to be stepping down in circumstances like this. . .”

Speaking specifically to Transport and Local Government Minister Renward Wells’ admission last October that the Phil’s Food Services building had been stripped of vital electrical wiring plumbing and air conditioning components, Mr Davis questioned why the building was left unsecured after the government acquired it.

“In examining what he said, all you see is it being fraught with failure on his part. Do you think it would have been prudent to acquire the building for a post office without first looking at the building to determine if it was suitable for conversion?

“Then you go to the second point having acquired it you’re just going to leave the building there for it to be stripped? Why wasn’t it stripped before the acquisition? You would have thought that once acquired they would have put in place sufficient security measures to avoid any of what he claims to have happened.

“If it was stripped, don’t you think they ought to have had an investigation because what he’s saying is what they acquired is no longer what it was supposed to be. So it doesn’t make sense.”

Mr Davis reiterated that the former PLP government considered the mall but under different circumstances. At the time Mr Symonette was not in politics and had given indication that he was not returning, the Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP said. Ultimately he said they determined it was not an ideal location.

“Yes we looked at the Town Centre Mall and due diligence was done to determine whether it would have been an appropriate place for the post office,” Mr Davis said.

He said all of the advice the then government received indicated the mall was not a suitable place for relocation. Considering all things, he said the Christie administration rejected that site and looked at the Independence Shopping Centre.

He said the government would have also had to lease the mall at nearly the same cost it would have taken to buy and own the Independence Shopping Centre.

The government received the engineering report from Mr McIntosh’s company, McACE Technical Services Ltd, six weeks before passing a resolution in Parliament to rent the Town Centre Mall. The company was hired by the Ministry of Works last year “to carry out a comprehensive structural assessment” of Phil’s building, an exercise it began on August 28, 2018.

“It is our opinion,” the report said, “that should our recommended minor remedial measures be carried out, the structural integrity of the captioned building will be enhanced.”

The report, obtained by The Tribune last week, went unnoticed when Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin tabled it in the House of Assembly last year. But it has resurfaced as the controversy over the lease of the Town Centre Mall returned to the spotlight when Mr Symonette revealed earlier this month that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis called him personally to negotiate the deal last year.

The Office of the Prime Minister has declined to confirm the date of that call, and further suggested the admission made by the former minister represented a breach of confidentiality.