In a report written in 2004 that is just now being made public, former General Manager of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation Troi Ferguson suggested that one of the reasons why BAIC continued to be cash-strapped was because it was being forced to pay certain personal bills incurred by Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller.
“In June 2003, [I] learned that the corporation was paying entertainment (restaurant) bills for the Minister previously responsible for BAIC,” Mr. Ferguson wrote in a report to the board of BAIC.
“Imagine [my] surprise to learn that the Minister previously responsible, while preaching the need for expenditure control by corporation executives, would allow his entertainment bills to be paid by what he frequently termed ‘a broke corporation.'”
In an attempt to control the situation, the general manager wrote that he instructed the accountant, who happens to be a relative of the Minister, to justify the expenditure being charged to BAIC’s account; and refer charges to the Ministry of Trade and Industry for payment, if found not to be BAIC-related.
“Despite these instructions, the bill was paid by the accountant,” Mr. Ferguson wrote. “This was made possible due to the fact that the accountant and certain managers had signing privileges for the amount to be paid, at the time.”
He said in July 2003, he intercepted a statement from another restaurant addressed to the Ministry of Trade and Industry with BAIC’s mailing address as the payee.
Mr. Ferguson said it was at this point that he gave instructions that no further payment is to be made unless justified as BAIC-related; no expenses incurred by persons or groups or institutions outside BAIC are to be made without prior approval of the general manager; and no cheques (in whatever amounts) are to be requisitioned without the prior approval of the general manager.”
He wrote that within minutes of those instructions he was contacted by Minister Miller who requested that the bill be paid.
Mr. Ferguson said he explained to the Minister that he could only accommodate him if the entertainment was justified as BAIC-related.
He also wrote that a few days later, while having lunch with the executive chairman (Sidney Stubbs), deputy chairman (Godfrey Eneas), the ambassador for the environment and chairman of the BEST Commission (Keod Smith) and Mr. Michael Halkitis (now BAIC chairman) at Green Shutters Restaurant, he was summoned from the room reserved by Minister Miller who again insisted that his restaurant bill be paid to avoid embarrassment to him.
Mr. Ferguson said after he refused to pay the bill for some time, the deputy chairman approved payment after holding discussions with the Minister responsible.
He said he later observed that “interestingly enough” while the files reflected the first invoice requesting the accountant to determine justification for the expenditure charged against the corporation it did not contain the second set of instructions mentioned above.
Mr. Ferguson said upon reviewing statements from The Bahamas Telecommunications Company he also discovered that BAIC was being billed for a cellular phone number assigned to Minister Miller.
“Again, one can imagine [my] utter surprise and dismay to learn that despite statements expressing concern about the financial condition of the corporation, BAIC was being asked to pay telephone (cellular) costs incurred by [Minister Miller],” he wrote.
“Not only was the executive chairman showing disregard for the importance in accountability but it was apparent the [Minister] was undermining [my] administrative authority through the assistant general manager for property and office administration, which contradicted the Minister of Finance’s pledge of fiscal prudence.”
He said, “This became very frightening and unsettling.”
Mr. Ferguson also claimed in that report that during the first quarter of 2003, the deputy chairman claimed that Minister Miller requested that Simone Dillet be hired as manager of marketing and public relations.
“A request was made for the general manager to draft a letter for Ms. Dillet setting out the terms and conditions of her employment,” he wrote. “[I] indicated to the deputy chairman that [I] could not hire anyone to fill the position of manager of marketing and public relations as an officer was recently fired with the understanding that the position was considered redundant by the corporation.
“To then hire someone else to fill a redundant position would have legal ramifications. The following week Ms. Dillet was brought into [my] office as the new manager for marketing and public relations. It was during this interview that [I] learned that Ms. Dillet was a ‘personal’ friend of [Minister Miller]. Ms. Dillet kept implying that [I] should protect her from any negative reaction from other managers and officers.”
Mr. Ferguson had also written to the board about the appointment of several other officers, including Chala Cartwright who he said was initially employed as junior handicraft officer at a salary of $18,000.
“Shortly after being appointed, [I] was asked by the Executive Chairman (Sidney Stubbs) to draft a letter of confirmation to Ms. Cartwright with an increase in salary to $26,000. [I] refused to draft the letter for [my] signature,” he wrote.
“Consequently, [Mr. Stubbs] wrote [me] a threatening letter indicating the political ties the officer had with the ruling party hierarchy and demanding his instructions be implemented. After [I] refused [Mr. Stubbs] proceeded to draft the letter for [my] signature.”
In preparing the comprehensive report, Mr. Ferguson, who was later fired as general manager, was responding to the operational audit of BAIC which had been conducted.
He wrote, “The comments will hopefully reveal what was communicated to the board by the general manager to be the primary reason for the corporation not being able to realize its full mandate over the years – too much political interference.”
Mr. Ferguson also wrote, “Unfortunately for the corporation, it was not regarded as a vital part of the national development for sometime now. Consequently, it has been used as a dumping ground for political misfits, favours and job creation. This led to a culture devoid of discipline and progression.”
He said that these circumstances rendered his office “insignificant” for most of the period under consideration.
The board of BAIC fired Mr. Ferguson four months after that report, saying that he had made provisions for certain expenditures and a salary increase for himself without the approval of the board.
Supreme Court Justice Vera Watkins ruled on August 8 that BAIC had unfairly terminated Mr. Ferguson and ordered the corporation to properly compensate him.
Following a round of controversy at the corporation, Prime Minister Perry Christie took over ministerial responsibility for BAIC. Mr. Stubbs resigned as executive chairman and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Michael Halkitis was appointed.
Minister Miller could not be reached on Tuesday to respond to the details of Mr. Ferguson’s report.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
