Furious prime minister says Lewis’ pressure for answers on IF Antigua rental agreement is abuse of privilege  

Prime Minister Gaston Browne believes that MP Richard Lewis is abusing
parliamentary privilege with his unrelenting inquiry into a rental agreement
between the Government and IF Antigua Inc., a company owned solely by
Browne’s son.
 
For a third parliamentary sitting, Lewis raised the matter on Friday, May 10,
but not directly.

Rather, he asked why the Ministry of Finance, headed by Browne, has failed to
respond to questions he submitted under the Freedom of Information Act,
seeking answers and documents about the rental agreement.
The Ministry has not responded within the 20-day period prescribed the by
law.
 
A clearly furious Browne said that, ordinarily, he would have refused to
answer the question, as the issue – in his mind – has been fully ventilated,
with renovatiom figures shared publicly and carried in several news outlets.

Browne accused Lewis of seeking “relevance” by pressing this issue, adding
that his ongoing quest to get answers is an abuse of process.

In response, MP Lewis calmly noted that the Ministry had breached the law by
not providing the requested information. And, again, he asked when his
request would be favorably addressed.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Sir Gerald Watt told Lewis that he has to
accept the prime minister’s response – or lack thereof – since there can be no
debate on Browne’s refusal to answer his questions.

Speaker of the House Sir Gerald Watt.

Lewis has been on a campaign to unearth the details of a transaction by which
a property once owned by the West Indies Oil Company Ltd. was acquired by
Gaston Andron Browne III, and is being rented by three government
departments under the portfolio of his stepmother, Maria Browne.