The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

FNM CHAIRMAN Darron Cash said yesterday Renward Wells must resign immediately amid reports that he breached government protocols by signing a letter of intent with a company proposing a $650m waste-to-energy deal.

In a statement, Mr Cash said not only should Mr Wells, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Works, resign but “other heads also need to roll”.

His comments came after Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said he was “unsure if Mr Wells acted improperly” and will review the facts before further commenting.

It was rumoured that Mr Wells would make a statement in the House of Assembly yesterday, although both he and Prime Minister Perry Christie have remained silent since the story broke. However, Mr Wells made no statement. And when asked outside Parliament, both Mr Wells and Mr Christie refused to answer questions when approached by The Tribune.

Mr Wells’ wife, Sarah, was present in the House of Assembly yesterday in an apparent show of support and sat in the visitor’s gallery during the morning session.

“Contrary to what the deputy prime minister has suggested, Mr Wells acted out of turn, he has committed an egregious error and he must resign now,” Mr Cash said. “Mr Wells must resign, but the FNM believes that he must not be the only one to resign.

“By signing the letter of intent, Mr Wells has committed the government of the Bahamas. The FNM expects that once Stellar Energy received the commitment from the government, the letter of intent would have been used to secure necessary funding for the project. Now, by repudiating the letter of intent and seeking to walk away from the secret arrangement, the Christie government will likely be exposing the Bahamian people to a lawsuit and expensive financial repercussions.

“We submit to the deputy prime minister that that possibility is nothing to be dismissed lightly. Mr Wells has to resign. The question must then be asked who goes with him? The scope of this scandal seems to widen every day.”

Mr Cash also said the waste-to-energy proposal is “similar” to the “shady” Blue Water deal the PLP proposed in its previous term. In the first Christie administration, the government had proposed to sell a minority stake in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company to Blue Water. However the plan was roundly criticised and later abandoned.

“The FNM sees shades of Blue Water all over this scheme,” Mr Cash said. “A review of the Stellar Energy Limited’s website suggests that the company in question appears to be nothing more than a consulting company, a group of middle men with no core technical skills of their own to actually do the work the people of The Bahamas will need.

“Additionally, the site reveals no meaningful organisational structure here in The Bahamas or elsewhere. The only other organisations of note are Allen & Allen, attorneys at law on Dowdeswell Street and RBC Royal Bank. We note in today’s newspaper that Algernon Allen, partner at the law firm that bears his name, has repudiated the company.

“This scandalous and shady start is hardly an auspicious way to start a half a billion dollar relationship with the government and people of the Bahamas.”

Mr Cash added that something about Stellar “stinks and the absence of accountability on anyone’s part gives the impression that there are many heads to be served up on that platter”.