By Shenia Roberts
Journal Staff Writer
The Davis administration has officially decided to terminate an Exuma-wide deal amid
scrutiny and allegations of a conflict of interest.
With little to no hesitation the government quickly terminated its agreement with the Bahamas
Moorings ltd. after it was discovered that persons with strong ties to the Prime Minister’s
Office are directly connected to the company and its affairs. This incident sparked much
controversy and warranted lots of scrutiny from the opposition.
Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard spoke to the issue as both sides have recently
revealed that they “mutually agreed” not to proceed. Pintard said “we believe that it’s critical
that the government has a full and transparent investigation into the matter. There are too
many unanswered questions that strike at the heart of a lack of accountability and
transparency.”
He also called on Prime Minister Davis to relinquish all ties with his advisor who is allegedly
one of the persons directly linked to Moorings Ltd. Pintard emphasized that “the only way to
protect what is left of his reputation” is to part ways with the advisor in question.
Considering this, members of the Progressive Liberal Party specifically party chairman Fred
Mitchell have attempted to diffuse any backlash. During an interview with press outside the
House of Assembly on Wednesday Mitchell refused to comment further on the matter as he
says Prime Minister Davis has already called the arrangement off.
Prime Minister Davis addressed this issue during his contributions in the House of Assembly
and noted that the reason the arrangement was terminated is due to the company jumping the
gun on installation.
He said “some moorings were installed before the company obtained necessary permissions
and a cease and desist order was issued.”
Bahamas Moorings LTD has since agreed to remove all installed moorings and refrain from
installing anymore.
According to Prime Minister Davis a new national strategic plan for the management of
moorings is underway to prevent future issues.
