Renward Wells must resign for the good of the FNM…
By Alexander James
Senior Editor Bahamas Press
In his purported story, in which he tangles the said letter written by Hon. Michael Halkitis into the web of confusion linked to the LOI signed by the Unauthorized Parliamentary Secretary?
Whenever you examine the LOI signed by the then Parliamentary Secretary Hon. Renward Wells the more deeply you wonder what must have went down by the persons who were apart of the signing.
As it stands little is known about the LOI according to Minister of Works Hon. Philip Brave Davis, who said on Monday the first time he knew of an LOI with his name on it was when it appeared in the August 22nd edition of the Nassau Guardian.
Mr. Davis told the Guardian in its Monday 29th edition, “I don’t know who drafted it [Letter of Intent]. I don’t know. That’s the first sight I had of it when I saw, I think, a picture of it in the Guardian.”
Mr. Davis added that if the Bahamian people are not satisfied with what Mr. Wells had said on the issue, then he should be further probed.
Now this point is significant because there are some serious questions that must be answered by Mr. Wells. Answers needed are:
1) Who generated the Letter of Intent with his [Wells] signature?
2) How did the Government Seal get on the Letter of Intent when no Permanent Secretary [the person with the Financial Authority in Ministries] had sign that LOI document?
3) Was Mr. Wells paid for the LOI? And if “yes” how much?
4) And why did Mr. Wells sign the Letter of Intent when he confirmed on the floor of the House he had no authority to sign such? What is this?!
Readers should note that there was a “suggested” letter allegedly written by the Minister of State for Finance, Hon. Michael Halkitis, which confirms a request for a meeting with the operators of Stellar Waste to Energy with the IDB.
The said letter appeared in excerpts in a Tribune article on Friday August 19th, written by Business Editor Neil Hartnell, which suggests under the headline: “Govt Knew Of Wells Loi Before Signing”. The report was convoluted, confusing and vexing to say the least.
Mr. Hartnell suggested that in that letter Mr. Halkitis wrote to Astrid Wynter, Country Representative to the IDB on May 26, 2014, he stated that, “the Government has issued an initial LOI” to Stellar Energy. “HAD” is the operative word there [Let’s stick a pin here].
Now here’s the trick; the Letter of Intent inked by Mr. Wells was done on July 4th, 2014, weeks after the suggested letter by Hartnell. But was this the same LOI referenced by Mr. Halkitis [weeks before]? Was it?
It is also the considered view of Bahamas Press that if you mention a process that is being carried out by THE Government of the Bahamas then you need the authority of the government to do so! Which would then mean that such a decision comes down via a Cabinet Paper! Was this the case?
We ask members of the Christie Government:
1) Was there indeed a Cabinet Conclusion for a said Letter of Intent attached to a letter forwarded to Astrid Wynters as suggested by Neil Hartnell of the Tribune?
2) What was indeed that Conclusion if “YES”?
3) Was the IDB being deceived here if such a Conclusion was never issued?
Perhaps Mr. Hartnell’s words via pen, which bled on papers in his August 19th article, a lie! That lie suggested that the Government “had” indeed issued an LOI, which created the cloud over the said letter presented by Mr. Halkitis to Wynters. If this point is true it would go against all the standards of all acceptable, responsible, trustworthy journalism and should force the Tribune to retract the entire August 19th article. All we say is this; this will get a lot worse before it gets any better.
We know Prime Minister Christie eventually fired Mr. Wells over the matter before he left the PLP asking repeatedly to explain himself in Parliament. Mr. Wells in silence later join the frontbench of the Free National Movement under Dr. Hubert Minnis.
PLPs, FNMs and right-thinking Bahamians want Mr. Wells and his captures to answer!
We still stand on the point though that Mr. Renward Wells must resign, and for the future of the Free National Movement, do it before the end of the day.
