P.M.: validating NICH/Gegg contract is lesser of two evils

She is currently on suspension, but today the Prime Minister confirmed that Diane Haylock will keep her job. Haylock’s contract, which comes up for renewal next month, will be extended for another year. And as for the contract that she signed with developer David Gegg, Barrow says while the matter now rests with the NICH board, the best thing to do may be to maintain the contract as Gegg can claim substantial damages.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“I just want to make clear there are two issues, is the contract invalid? But number two, assuming the answer is yes, does it not still mean that Mr. Gegg will have to be handsomely compensated if in fact NICH did not try to put the contract on the proper footing and allow him to proceed. I’ll tell you straight off that while Cabinet is clear this is a matter for NICH and I think the decision was held up because two members of the board have resigned, one Mrs. Collier and another lady from Benque, Ruiz. But it was Cabinet’s view that the contract should be regularized, that whether you like Mr. Gegg or not, he certainly didn’t do anything wrong. He made commercial arrangements at the bank—he furnished us the evidence to support that—and it seems to us that commercial enterprises, people doing business in this country, should have a degree of predictability except when you’re talking about the truly secret contracts that absolutely disadvantage the people of this country. Because of that, we in our view, NICH would have to pay a boatload of damages to Mr. Gegg if we repealed the contract. Cabinet felt that the lesser of the two evils would be to maintain the contract.”