The Tribune

By Rashad Rolle

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis suggested that the Water and Sewerage Corporation contract Sylvanus Petty’s daughter received should have been cancelled when the relationship between the father and daughter became known.

A government source told The Tribune last night that Mr Davis has, in fact, requested that the contract be cancelled.

Mr Davis was asked yesterday about Sylatheia Gierszewski receiving the contract after he viewed the body of former Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez in the House of Assembly.

“Everybody would’ve known when the FNM tried to sully me up by indicating that I had given my brother a contract, something I did not know about, and they knew what I did when I discovered it, and I expected that to happen in this instance,” he told reporters. “We are looking at the circumstances and stay tuned.”

 It was revealed in 2017 that under the last Christie administration, a company owned by Mr Davis’ brother got two contracts from Bahamas Power and Light. Mr Davis was the minister of works responsible for BPL at the time.

 Mr Davis said that when he learned that his brother received the contract, he ordered the agreement to be cancelled. He said he summoned former BPL chairman Leslie Miller and former Permanent Secretary Colin Higgs to cancel the contracts.

 “I made it clear that while it may be okay for a contract to be given from the government, it shouldn’t be given from an entity under my portfolio,” he said at the time, adding that his brother was “very upset” at the cancellations.

 Last week, under cross-examination in the Adrian Gibson corruption trial, Mr Petty said he did not discourage awarding contracts to people known by members of the WSC board. He said: “Everyone in The Bahamas was family.”

 He said he did not frown on nepotism and had no problem with the company entering into contracts with political allies if they were capable.

 FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands has since called for Mr Petty to resign.

 “They the last person to pass any moral judgement on conduct and propriety,” Mr Davis said yesterday. “I know what I have to do and we are looking at the matter. We will not be dictated to by the FNM. We will look at the circumstances and see what it’s all about.”