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UDP Leader Shyne Takes On Royal Caribbean
posted (June 13, 2023)
Last night, we told you about the 4 page letter that the Leader of the Opposition, Shyne Barrow, wrote to the president and CEO of Royal Caribbean, warning him not to follow through with the MOU they signed with Portico in light of the odious terms of the definitive agreement.

And today at a press briefing he emphasized the reasoning behind writing it, saying that he felt the need to advise Royal Caribbean about what may have been a "naive" decision on its part. He then questioned that if both the current and former governments agree that the document is not binding, then why is it still on the table?

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"Portico had to have known that the signature of the former minister without Cabinet approval, without Cabinet acknowledgement, without the subcommittee from the Cabinet, was worthless. You could have signed that, I mean, not because you are a minister means you are not answerable to Cabinet."

"So to present that to Royal Caribbean to me was fraud. Again, it brings us to the government of the day and prime minister who is the architect of all of this, the orchestrator of all of this, who when the media asked him months ago about it, he said, you know it's binding, we have to follow through and I made this point to you the last time we spoke, they don't follow through on anything that the former UDP administration has signed on to, in particular Brad's Boledo and many other contracts that they terminated and they went to court and they lost. But all of a sudden they have to follow through with this now had it come to light that this definitive agreement was standard, same thing Stake Bank get, although we didn't know what Stake Bank got until recently we know what Stake Bank and Harvest Caye got, had it come to light and it was normal then we wouldn't be here discussing it."

"I think I as prime minister in waiting, it is important to disclose that to Royal Caribbean, if they don't know. It could be that they were naive in their interactions with Mr Gegg and they took for granted that he gave them a definitive agreement that he said was legitimate but we all now know, everybody is saying it's not legitimate, the government of the day now is saying it's not legitimate, the previous government from prime minister down to attorney general down to minister of Cabinet, a minister that was in that economic development ministry is now saying that it was fraudulent, how do we get to a point where we're still even talking to Portico?"

But as you've heard one of the Cabinet ministers say, this definitive agreement is, quote, "residual fecal matter" from the past UDP administration. But Barrow says they should be shouldering the blame because someone from the Ministry of Finance - who remains unknown - had to have brought it to the Cabinet for consideration.

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"This is PUP fecal matter that they try make into chocolate ice cream. Let's be real, the UDP has disavowed and denounced what the former minister did from the former prime minister, attorney general, everyone has come out, myself included, and said that was wrong, that shouldn't have been done. The question has to be asked, why was the prime minister, the Minister of Finance, his minister of state, why were they do intent on bringing that to Cabinet, that should have never made its way to Cabinet, that should have made its way to a press briefing with the entire Cabinet saying look at the fecal matter of the UDP, can you believe this is what they did? Then I would have nothing to say other than to join in condemning any such acts of impropriety and illegality."

"Again, we cannot divorce ourselves form who brought that document, that dubious definitive agreement to the cabinet and it was the prime minister's ministry and the prime minister is on record saying that anything that happens in his ministry, he takes full responsibility for."

Courtney Menzies:
"When we asked them about why they took it, they said they had to review it because of legal consequences..."

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"Not they, you spoke to Kareem Musa, you spoke to Anthony Mahler, and it wasn't him that brought it to Cabinet. The people that brought it to Cabinet have still not answered you."

Reporter:
"Well, Coye has spoken and he said..."

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"He said, legal, legal, legal, talk to the lawyer, you have to talk to the lawyer, that's what he said."

Reporter:
"He cited Cabinet confidentiality in essence."

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"Exactly."

According to our reports from multiple Cabinet sources, the Cabinet paper was brought by Minister of State for Finance Chris Coye. We did ask Coye but he told us, quote, "I don't comment on deliberations at Cabinet."

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