Eamon Courtenay Says Finance and Audit Reform Act Breached
The P.U.P. also found out that last month a decision to dissolve Goodlee Limited in Saint Lucia was taken and that the formalities of dissolution are still ongoing. We are told that Anwar Barrow returned to the country via the P.G.I.A. during lunchtime. Our request for an interview has gone unanswered. The P.U.P.’s legal advisor Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay says that Section nineteen subsection five of the Finance and Audit Reform Act has been breached which could possibly mean that the contract awarded to Brads is null and void. He says that PM Barrow failed to disclose the documents to parliament and as such failed to carry out his fiduciary obligations.
John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition
“Our source in Saint Lucia informed us that on ninth October 2020, that is last month, Good Lee presented articles of dissolutions to the registrar to begin to dissolve the company. The formalities of dissolution are still ongoing. According to the company documents filed in Saint Lucia, the directors and shareholders of Good Lee have decided that it is in the best interest of the company that it be dissolved and liquidated. The P.U.P. satisfied that both Brads contract were awarded to a company in which the Prime Minister’s son Anwar Barrow as a major shareholder or owner. The fact that the prime Minister and other minister have deliberately kept secret the ownership of Brads Gaming Company strongly suggest that they knew of the involvement of Anwar Barrow and failed to disclosed this to the public. “
Eamon Courtenay, Attorney for P.U.P.
“Section nineteen subsection five of the Finance and Audit Reform Act states and I quote “any procurement or sale of or above five million dollars shall be subject to eh open tendering procedure.” Because the value of the Brads contract was in excess of fifty million dollars per year it must have been offered by way of open tender. The Finance and Audit Reform Act for good reason sets out in great detail all the conditions that must be complied with when the open tendering procedure is used. For our initial investigations it does not appear that these procedures were followed to the letter of the law. Let us be clear under the Finance and Audit Reform Act the ministry responsible is the Minister of Finance, that is the Honorable Dean Barrow. As Minister of Finance Prime Minister Barrow had a legal duty to disclose the Brads Contract within thirty days of its executive. Not only that, he was legally required to disclose to the House of Representatives and to the Senate related documents sufficient to enable parliament to determine whether they open tender procedure was complied with. In violation of the Finance and Audit Reform Act, and in breach of his fiduciary duty the Prime Minister of Belize the honorable Dean Barrow did not submit these required documents to the House or the Senate incompliance with the law. Our research reveals that such a failure to discharge one’s fiduciary duty to conduct duty diligence on a company is in fact a breach of your fiduciary duty. It exposes the country to serious risks as we do not know whether we are doing with criminals, with the mafia, with MS13. We have no idea if you believe them who is this contract was awarded to.”