AG Williams fabricating lies to justify Govt’s incompetence in US$5.7M payment to BK – says Nandlall

Following is the full text of a statement issued today by former Attorney General, Mohabir Anil Nandlall

Only last week I disclosed publicly that every time Attorney General, Mr. Basil Williams, is faced with a conundrum from which he cannot explicate himself, he churlishly resorts to blaming “the former AG and the previous administration”. He was at it again at his last press conference. His latest and most recent fabrication, as he tries to defend and justifies the incompetence and corruption which permeate the payment of 5.7 million US dollars to BK International in relation to the Haagsbosch Landfill Site, is that “the previous administration had already entered in an agreement to pay BK more than 10 million US dollars”.

This is an utterly new and incredulous explanation which the nation is now being fed. This matter has been in the public domain for the past 8 months. Not once was this explanation proffered prior to now. In fact, the Attorney General himself spoke at length on this matter in the Committee of Supply on the 8^th of August, 2016. He said nothing about this alleged agreement of the previous government to pay BK International. Had he said so, he would certainly be dragged before the Privileges Committee.

The nation was told that BK International sued the government for 10 million US dollars and that the Government won a major victory when it managed to extract from BK International a settlement of 5.7 million US dollars. This is the argument peddled for the last 8 months until I disclosed, after searching the Supreme Court Registry, that no such action has been filed by BK International against the Government claiming compensation in respect of this contract.

It was only after I made this disclosure that Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkhan, finally buckled and admitted that a mere letter was sent by the contractor to the Government threatening to sue for 10 million US dollars. Now we have a new twist in the plot: the Attorney General’s recent fabrication. Last week, he got the Solicitor General to say it. Now he says it. It will be noted that he did not provide a copy of this alleged agreement of the previous administration to pay BK International. He cannot do so. There is none; unless of course, one is now being concocted. If such an agreement existed, I have no doubt, it would have been produced, publicly, months ago. I hope a submission of invoices for payment by the contractor is not interpreted as an agreement by the Government to pay.

The truth of the matter is if there was an agreement to pay, the payment would have been made and the contract would not have been terminated by the PPP/C administration. The sole reason for contention was precisely because of the Government’s refusal to pay.

No amount of “interrogating the contract” by the Attorney General will change these facts.