An apparent case of influence peddling and conflict of interest was revealed by the President of Netsiwill Holdings Limited Earlin Williams on the Love 97 Radio Programme ‘Jones and Company’ on Sunday.
At a time when Mr. Williams served as a consultant with the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), he took Korean investors into the Corporation seeking the support of BAIC in a fishing venture.
But he insisted on the programme that he saw nothing wrong with doing this while he was still a consultant.
Mr. Williams has now admitted that the son of convicted drug trafficker Artis Neely is a shareholder of Netsiwill and that the company intends to use Mr. Neely’s marina in Grand Bahama to facilitate its operation.
He claimed that he paid $1 for 15 vessels valued at $2.5 million and he reiterated that he intends to carry out his fishing operation off North Andros.
But the Government of The Bahamas does not believe that the boats were a gift to Mr. Williams as he previously claimed that he had a 25-year mortgage on the boats.
However, after the government made its position clear that the boats would not be allowed to fish in Bahamian waters because they weren’t 100 percent Bahamian-owned, Mr. Williams reported that he had a new arrangement with the Koreans.
He said he stumbled on such fortune due to “the power of prayer.”
Mr. Williams, who describes himself as a political operative for the Progressive Liberal Party, said that he is still working for Prime Minister Perry Christie and that the prime minister will support the Korean boat deal once the matter goes through the courts.
He is seeking a declaration from the courts that the boats be registered to fish in Bahamian waters. If he wins, it would overturn the government’s decision to revoke the certificates of registration for the boats.
The government made the decision after determining that the boats were not fully Bahamian-owned, but were owned by a group of Korean investors.
“The Government of The Bahamas acted prematurely and acted without all the facts,” Mr. Williams said.
He said the 15 boats and the 16th vessel, known as the “Mother Ship” which was originally intended to house a processing plant, were built “especially on my specifications to fish in the Bahamas.”
Mr. Williams said two Korean engineers remain in the country to ensure that the boats would be able to run well. The Mother Ship, he said, has since been turned into a transport vessel.
“It would be very difficult to take those craft into other territories,” he explained. “The Koreans wrote that off as a loss. Having written it off as a loss, the Koreans were then placed in the position of [what to do]. Out of goodwill and as a return to me as to what they think I had encountered, the Koreans decided ‘Well, the boats are here, let’s see what the boats do in the Bahamas.'”
Originally, the Koreans had a $2.5 million mortgage attached to the 15 boats. In the end, they would still have owned the vessel.
“Out of this adversity came great benefit, great fortune,” Mr. Williams said.
He said his company was granted duty-free concessions in late October and ended up paying in excess of $60,000.
Mr. Williams, who is now a consultant for Bahamas Information Services, said in the worst-case scenario, he will find $700,000 to pay the customs duties for the boats.
He also revealed the partners in his company: Felix Bowe; Brian Cleare, of North Andros; and Adrian Neely of West End, Grand Bahama.
Mr. Williams said that “not one red cent” of public funds was used for the venture.
Holy Cross Member of Parliament Sidney Stubbs, resigned as executive chairman of BAIC during the controversy.
But Mr. Williams denied that he was to blame for what led to Mr. Stubbs’ resignation.
Mr. Williams said, “There [were] serious, serious, vicious spins and [Mr. Stubbs] reached his tolerance level. And I think that the Government of the Bahamas acted prematurely. They rushed to judgment without having all of the facts. They decided Mr. Stubbs’ fate, in terms of wanting to accept his resignation before all of the facts were on the table.”
Although Agriculture and Fisheries Minister V. Alfred Gray said in parliament in late November that the boats will be removed from the Bahamas “fort with”, the 15 vessels remain impounded at North Andros.
The Mother Ship remains at the Customs dock in Freeport, Grand Bahama.
“I was very disappointed in Mr. Gray’s dictum that the boats ought to leave the Bahamas,” Mr. Williams said. “That struck me and my partners like a thunder bolt.”
He claims that he had satisfied Mr. Gray’s concerns prior to the matter becoming a public debate.
The Bahama Journal
