Cabinet conclusion will identify money owed from government land acquisitions
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Attorney General Ryan Pinder said yesterday that none of the money requested from his office to satisfy the $17.7 million in court settlements had “anything to do with any settlement of Shane Gibson”.
Pinder was responding to questions by Senator Reuben Rahming, who questioned how the government intends to pay out its settlement to people owed or whether certain people will be given priority.
Gibson was reportedly awarded $2.5 million settlement deal with the government after he alleged he was falsely imprisoned and maliciously prosecuted.
Pinder said the AG’s Office is not the responsible party for paying that settlement, but it is the Ministry of Finance.
“All of the $17.7 million is accrued judgments on the books from before September 16, 2021, that are being satisfied. Some have gone way back multiple administrations,” Pinder said.
Last month, Pinder revealed that an extra-budgetary payment plan has been set up to address what he called the “vexing issue” of unbudgeted settlement and judgment expenses.
Pinder said it was discovered that the Office of The Attorney General had $17.7 million in expenses that were required to settle outstanding legal claims.
“There’s nothing nefarious in the whole Shane Gibson matter, there’s nothing nefarious in the nolle of Ken Dorsett,” he added.
“I didn’t make that decision. The prosecutor made that decision.
“The prosecutor made that decision because the key witness in the case refused to testify without being paid and this government does not pay for testimony.
“We are not doing that. There’s nothing nefarious there of any decision made by any person.”
It was revealed that the star witness in the bribery case of former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Kenred Dorsett wanted to be paid for his witness testimony.
Dorsett was charged in 2017 with extorting $120,000 from Ash.
His matter was the last of the three former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) parliamentarians who were arrested and charged in relation to allegations of abuse of their positions in office for financial gain.
Former Senator and Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) Chairman Frank Smith and former Minister of Labour and National Insurance Shane Gibson were both acquitted.
Ash was also a key witness in the bribery trial of Gibson, who had been accused of receiving more than $250,000 from the contractor to speed up around $1 million in payments the government owed him for cleanup work in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.
In February 2020, Gibson sued the government, alleging “malicious prosecution” and false imprisonment and has since won a multi-million dollar settlement in the case.
When asked by Eyewitness News whether Ash had requested to be paid or was paid for his previous testimony involving Gibson, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Franklyn Williams said he could not speak to what was done under the former director of public prosecutions and former administration or any agreements or engagements that they may have entered into with Ash.
The attorney general also advised yesterday that Cabinet will also bring a conclusion as it relates to funds owed for government land acquisitions.
“I find it inequitable that we treat our people like that,” he said when he spoke of the money owed to Bahamians.
“This doesn’t even have to do with property acquisitions that have accrued decades and decades and decades and now interests and costs are higher than what the acquisition value would have needed back then.
“And you take people’s land and say you it’s my land now for the government and the public interest. And you don’t pay them and you wait 10 years to let them draw it to the courts just to reach an evaluation.
“It’s a ludicrous practice for generations in this country but it is a new day now and we are satisfying those.”
Pinder noted that his office will create a comprehensive file showing amounts owed and identify proper claims that will be presented to the Ministry of Finance for payment.
He insisted that he is unable to provide the value of land acquisitions under the government, noting that some may be in the Office of the Prime Minister, the Office of the Attorney General, Lands and Surveys, and even government agencies.
“It is a system of governance that regardless of political affiliation must be remedied because all it does is drag the Bahamian people along,” Pinder said.
“You take their things and you don’t even give them a dollar to take back.”
