By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis says Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells is not playing an active role in the Ministry of Works while the controversy over his allegedly unauthorised signing of a letter of intent persists.

“I think Mr Wells has taken the view that he’s going to wait to see and he’s in discussions now I’m told with the prime minister, but he is not active, he’s taken a backseat as it were as parliamentary secretary in the ministry,” Mr Davis said yesterday.

Mr Davis, the minister of works, also said yesterday that while he knows what should happen to Mr Wells, action on the matter rests with Prime Minister Perry Christie. He added that the Bamboo Town MP should face consequences and suggested that Mr Wells’ position in the Ministry of Works “could change”.

“I’m settled in my mind on what has to happen and I’m settled what is to happen,” he said. “It’s just a matter of timing, and that timing rests with the prime minister and he will deal with it within his time.”

When asked if Mr Wells’ refusal to resign despite being asked to do so by Mr Christie makes the nation’s leader look weak, Mr Davis said: “If the premise is correct that he asked Wells to resign and Wells didn’t resign, why would it make the prime minister look weak?”

“As he said before, he’s not going to march to anyone’s drum.”

Mr Wells’ position has raised concerns among some that he may be reaping the benefits given to parliamentary secretaries while not fulfilling the duties of one.

“I, like most other Bahamians, can only shake my head in amazement at the extent of incompetence, arrogance and just downright disrespect that ‘Brave’ Davis and the prime minister are showing to the Bahamian people,” FNM Chairman Darron Cash said when contacted for comment yesterday.

“Clearly Mr Wells has been constructively terminated and the Bahamian people are paying a salary and benefits for someone who is adding no value to the country. It is absolutely disgraceful that this matter has not been brought to a head. The fact that Mr Wells has supposedly taken a backseat reflects the fact that at a minimum, the minister to whom he reports has already taken the position that he ought to either be terminated or sent to another ministry. If that is what happened then it means that Mr Wells has withdrawn his services from the public sector as a parliamentary secretary, but he has not done the honourable thing of submitting his resignation. Either way, Prime Minister Christie is the one who ought to be held to account for this mockery they have made of governance in the Bahamas,” Mr Cash said.

Under the Westminster system, parliamentary secretaries are expected to assist a senior minister with his or her duties.

Despite pledging to have either himself or Mr Wells address the controversial signing of a $650m letter of intent with Stellar Waste to Energy Management before the House of Assembly adjourned for recess, neither Mr Christie nor Mr Wells has addressed the matter as expected.

Mr Davis said some consequence should befall Mr Wells but declined to give details of what the consequence should be.

“Coming out of my investigations, something ought to happen,” he said. “What will happen, the consequences of that, is in the hands of the prime minister and I think there are a number of mitigating factors surrounding what my findings were, but again there are certainly some consequence and that consequence is above my pay grade.”

Mr Davis said he is neither frustrated nor distracted by the controversy that has grabbed headlines for three months.

The deputy prime minister added that only critics of the Christie administration see the prime minister’s handling of this controversy in a negative light.

“Those non-supporters of our government would continue to promote it as something that should give us a black eye,” he said. “Those who are not with us, who continue to use it as a punching bag, will do so. But those who are with us, those who understand parliamentary democracy in the context of the Westminster system will appreciate that it’s all a matter of timing and what will happen at the end of the day so I would hope that everyone will wait to see what happens.”