Prime Minister Gaston Browne says he feel betrayed by at least two of his regional colleagues who have stopped him from putting the issue of a replacement for LIAT on the table.
Browne revealed today that even before two recent meeting on the question of LIAT, side deals were being made about the fate of the airline.
“I was surprised that during the meeting that certain deals were cut without even notifying me as a significant shareholder in LIAT. I don’t believe the prime minister of Dominica was consulted either,” Browne told Pointe FM.
The prime minister says on two occasion his colleagues prevented him from making an intervention on LIAT. On the first occasion Browne said the prevented the matter from being discussed and on the second occasion they did not put it on the agenda.
“So here is a situation in which we attended a meeting to look at the fate of LIAT. What had happened, the directors had made a recommendation to the board to dismantle or liquidate LIAT. I understand that if you are talking about liquidation you cannot be talking about forming a new entity concurrently and that point was made by my colleague heads. I understood it but at the same time I failed to understand why we could not discuss the issue off the record without reflecting the issue on the record and discuss the possibility of starting a new airline. So my recommendation was that we discuss the issue off the record and unfortunately two of the shareholders who constitute the majority would have none of it. So they held on to a narrow legal point and prevented me from making certain representations so I asked if we could have another meeting.”
Prime Minister Browne said on the second occasion the matter of a new LIAT was not placed on the agenda.
“We ended the meeting with the understanding that we would have met last Monday to invite the other CARICOM shareholders to make a determination as to how we move forward or whether or not the various countries have an appetite to invest in a new entity.
“We noticed that the agenda that was sent out for Monday actually spoke about the liquidation of LIAT and the implications for regional travel. Nothing about the formation of a new entity which caught me by surprise. So I said hold on a second, you prevented me as the representative for Antigua & Barbuda to make representation for a new entity at our shareholding meeting and now we having a broader one you constructed an agenda to avoid the issue about a new entity but to speak about the impact on intra-regional travel,” Browne revealed.
According to the prime minister he “left that meeting prematurely because I am trying to figure out but hold on a second, If I cannot get an opportunity to discuss these issues then you are suppressing Antigua & Barbuda as a minority interest holder.”
The Antigua leader is denying that his public pronouncements on the issue is closing the door to further discussions.
“I know that there are some who are trying to suggest that I am burning bridges and I am closing doors but what actually happened in essence is that the door was actually shut in the face of Antigua & Barbuda. I didn’t proceed to shut any door and what I am doing at this point is to try and pry and open that door so that commonsense and ultimately equity and fairness could prevail and I have an obligation so to do,” he said.
“I don’t pick fight with people but where I see injustice especially where it involves the people of Antigua & Barbuda, I am going to stand up and be counted. And for those who are trying to suggest I am getting involved in some lewd verbal or intellectual confrontation that is not so,” Browne added.
The prime minister told radio listeners that he feels betrayed not to have been given an opportunity to discuss the matter.
“I saw it as a betrayal of the cooperation that existed among the shareholders of LIAT, and I am not saying this to create any friction but I am just talking truth to power.”
He is also calling for CARICOM consensus on the fate of the 60-year-old airline.
“And until such time there is a consensus, and to my knowledge CARICOM generally operates on a consensus, and I don’t believe that notwithstanding the fact that we have some issues that this point that the consensus is beyond us.”
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Headline two days ago ….”Prime Minister Gaston Browne has dismissed a meeting of CARICOM as “ceremonial,” defending his decision not to attend” . Well i guess he was wrong……….Economic What !
use di 20 million you boasting about fu take care of di employed pepole in yuh country or go grade down some land and make a big farm and give them work to do.
Power House
Antiguans and Barbudans are feeling of betrayed and lied to from you Gaston.
Pm wanted to buy out Scotia and Digicel. Now is the time to assume all liat liabilities and buy them out since the other shareholders are calling it quits. No caricom. The only one to benefit from liat will be Antigua.
PM you can’t have your cake or eat. Can’t be your way or the high way! People are not myopic! Even with your best of intentions there are fundamental gaps in your approach. We know you don’t listen but we the general public still voice our opinion.
Browne wants EVERYBODY to abide by HIS decisions,but does NOT want to abide by OTHERS.Face in Browne…LIAT DONE…the other SHAREHOLDERS want NOTHING MORE TO DO WITH LIAT ,they have already made plans for the MOST LUCRATIVE ROUTES and they are NOT up north…even DOMINICA looking SOUTH.
The PM does not understand the difference between a “difference of opinion” and a “betrayal”. For him, anyone who has expresses a different opinion to his has betrayed him. Mia and Ralph do not agree with Gaston In LIAT. This does not mean they have betrayed him. Gaston suffers from narcissist tendencies and so cannot think objectively.
The Johnny come lately Caribbean leaders only know to enrich themselves and leave the citizens begging for crumbs…I want Mia to beat them with a whip like a mother her kids, learn to take care of your citizens first. Outsmart them EVERYTIME Mia, let them wake up and do right, stop being greedy, corrupt and heady. As for Dominica, it’s a crying shame how they have been sold down the river, by their PM. You think is LIAT they want saved? The one in Dominica wants his people to pay rent for him of $32000 a month, and some of them still living under tarp since Maria, the bad hurricane. If they show interest in their people the other leaders will give them respect and include them in discussions. This just goes to tell the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda you all have no leaders.
Here’s my two cents on this so call betrayal now what I believe happen is that Antigua didn’t held up their part of the bargain which was to pass the Law to deny the workers from getting their Severance.which was wrong in every way don’t get me wrong. So the other shareholders chastised him for not fulfilling that so they went and do their own thing without him.
Some people real jealous of DA PM. The discussion is about liat hater. Now PM browne as a dominican living in Antigua i am standing with you. They are traitors indeed. Before the discussion Gonzalez was already on air running his big mouth about St Vincent’s airline. All of you who are hitting on PM Browne I hope you are not Antiguans because I cant understand for the life of me why PM Browne is wrong for standing up for his country, for his people. Do you understand what will happen to the hundreds of Antiguans who will continue to be unemployed. Liat has been good to us personally i LOVE liat because i trust their pilots. If one dont stand for something then one will fall for anything my second PM stand and continue to stand and who dont like “lump it”, according to dominicans. My prayers are with you.
No problem with Browne standing up and wanting the best for Antigua and Barbuda…but it appears he has a problem with the other Countries standing up and wanting the best for their Countries too.It appears also that because LIAT is based in Antigua,he wants the LEADERS of the OTHER COUNTRIES to place the INTEREST of ANTIGUANS ahead of their own,furthermore,what more is there to be discussed about the future of LIAT? maybe he can shout across the Caribbean Sea to say his piece.
I would be sending you the tissues to wipe your tearing,lying eyes.They had enough of your temper Tantrums.Like that of a 5 years old.When you take away his toys and tell him time for bed.
What a public lynching for someone trying to save livelihoods of LIAT staff. PM, leave them be. Let all of the Bush lawyers out there sit back and tell you that Antigua is responsible for all LIAT’s liabilities, then let them. The ignorant lynchers smell blood not realizing that it is their own. Have faith, my friend.
He feels betrayed. Betrayed? They just had enough of you.They no longer wish to work with you.You are egotistical and nasty with it.You do drive others away with your abrasive behavior.
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