WIOC and Cabinet have questions to answer about sweetheart deal on Friars Hill property, says MP Watts

MP Algernon “Serpent” Watts says there are questions that the West
Indies Oil Company Limited (WIOC) will have to answer about the
sale of a Friars Hill Road building to the prime minister’s son.
 
Last Thursday, February 22, in Parliament, PM Gaston Browne
confirmed that the building – which houses three government
offices – is owned by his son and a group of unidentified individuals
through an unnamed company.
 
Browne claimed that the premises, housing the Development
Control Authority (DCA), the Ministry of Lands and Housing, and the
Land Office – all falling under the portfolio of his wife, Maria
Browne, is being occupied rent-free.

Watts says that WIOC needs to let the public know for how much that
building was sold, since, coincidentally, deals to which the Cabinet is
privy appear to benefit the prime minister’s son every time.
 
Like MP Richard Lewis, who raised the matter in the Lower House,
Watts is curious to know the process used to sell the land and
building and whether they were tendered.
 
Watts notes that the Government purchased shares in WIOC, as well
as the land and buildings close to the oil company. And he quips
that Browne’s son must be a mind reader to know which buildings
in that area were for sale.
 
Further, he points out that a relative of Browne’s son – his
stepmother – sits on the WIOC board.
 
PM Browne told the Lower House that, although the Government is
occupying the premises, it has been doing so rent free for more than
a year.

But Watts says that Browne cannot fool the people by painting his
son as a magnanimous person in this way. After all, the building was
not in the best shape and needed some construction work.
 
Accordingly, he wishes to know who did the construction work,
which, he points out, was paid for by the purse of the taxpayers, as
retrofitting the building has increased the value of the private
property.
 
The St. George MP says it was a wicked act to have WIOC sell the
run-down building, then have the Government pay to have it
refurbished after the sale, since it could have fetched a higher price
had it been sold in tip top condition.

Ultimately, Watts says, the younger Browne will be able to command
a higher rent for the property – but on the backs of the people who
paid to refurbish it.

Thus, he asks how taxpayers are even benefiting from this deal.