PM: Govt willling to disclose BTC sale details

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday that while his government is willing to disclose details to the public about the 2011 sale of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company that took place under the former Ingraham administration, it must also consider its relationship with Cable and Wireless Communications, the company that took over BTC.

His comments on the matter comes days after reports that 15 executives were paid $1.5m in bonuses following the sale of BTC by the Ingraham administration.

The report has renewed interest into the details surrounding the sale and raised questions about why the government has not established a promised parliamentary select committee to investigate the sale it has repeatedly criticised.

Mr Christie said: “I’m obviously privy to everything that took place in the BTC sale and obviously I was aware that one of the members of Parliament had made a request for a select committee to examine it.

“I happen to know all of the details of it and that is why on many occasions I have described the deal as not a good deal for the Bahamas.

“BTC owners now, Cable and Wireless, and the Bahamian people are partners and so I have no difficulty with the entire process being revealed to the Bahamian people, but at the same time I have to have a working relationship with Cable and Wireless with respect to BTC and hoping that they are preparing BTC for competition because that is exactly where we are headed.

“But on a number of occasions I have made public statements that refer, without being specific, that these payments were made and it’s very obvious who signed the cheques, who wrote the cheques and it’s very clear who did it.

“And so I don’t know whether it was ever attempted to be a secret, it was never revealed and now for the first time the Bahamian people are becoming aware of part of the story of the acquisition of BTC.”

Mr Christie said he was surprised by the bonus payments when he found out about them.

“I was surprised; but I wasn’t there. I don’t know what goes into having to provide incentives to the executives of a company that you’re privatising. I thought it was strange to be able to incentivise them that way, with some of them getting $200,000 plus, others getting over $100,000 so it was a decision made by the government of the former prime minister and it has to be seen for what it is and I’m sure in the fullness of time we’ll have wonderful debates and discussions on it.”

When asked about the previous call for the establishment of a select committee to investigate the sale of BTC, Mr Christie offered no update on the matter.

This week Free National Movement Chairman Darron Cash labelled the leaked reports of bonus payments a “deflection attempt” by the prime minister and the Progressive Liberal Party, adding that the $1.5m payments to executives were “well deserved”.

Mr Cash claimed that Perry Christie is trying to “divert attention away from his own government’s growing record of incompetence, corruption and scandal,” adding “his desperate acts will not work”.

The initial report said the payments were made from the Public Treasury.

Comments

ThisIsOurs says...

Good. And if you go through with it, disclose EVERYTHING. Referendum budget, NIB audit costs 1st and 2nd, UR 2.0 audited financials 2012 2013 and 2014, carnival budget, PHA audit

Posted 31 October 2014, 12:13 p.m. Suggest removal

jlcandu says...

Amazing this sorry excuse for a PM "is willing" to reveal the details of the BTC deal, but doesn't want to disclose the LOI that Renward Wells signed!!!!! I guess the difference is that he wasn't responsible for the former, but is responsible for the latter!!!

Sorry PM, nobody is impressed with your verbal diarrhea!! Shut up and do your damn job!!

Posted 31 October 2014, 1:06 p.m. Suggest removal

proudloudandfnm says...

How about releasing the details of the deal perry the amateur made with CWC this year?

Seems like the amateur gave CWC free TV services. When will that deal be released to the public?

Is that the sole mission of the foundation? To facilitate CWC breaking into TV?

Posted 31 October 2014, 1:40 p.m. Suggest removal

duppyVAT says...

PGC is right now making deals with Phil Bentley for his cronies and TI boss Williams before he opens the market for competition. At least we know what HAI did ...... but with the PLP its probably 10X worst.

Posted 31 October 2014, 1:44 p.m. Suggest removal

SP says...

So jackass # 1 is telling us "Govt Willing To Disclose Btc Sale Details", while the people actually are, and own the government and.......ALL INFORMATION AND BUSINESS OF THE COUNTRY......is an automatic privilege of all citizens.

GFY Christie! We are not interested in any OLD NEWS.

Posted 31 October 2014, 3:30 p.m. Suggest removal

SP says...

....................................THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO......HHHMMMMM...........................

Africa asks: 'If Burkina can do it, why can't we?'

News that Burkina Faso's long-serving leader Blaise Compaore had been pushed out of power prompted an explosion of comment from across Africa Friday, with many citizens asking, "If they can do it, why can't we?"

http://news.yahoo.com/africa-asks-burki…

Posted 1 November 2014, 5:54 a.m. Suggest removal

TalRussell says...

Comrades I challenge any blogger to give an example anywhere in world of where the privatization of a government's utility corporation has have resulted in lower electricity cost? Do we have look any further than Grand Bahama's 'Lights Out" Power Company where the 'privately owned" equipment is as old or older and as or more inefficient than BEC's 'lights out' standards?

Posted 1 November 2014, 3:09 p.m. Suggest removal

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