PLP’s cry conflict of interest on Govt’s plan to relocate the post office

PLP’s cry conflict of interest on Govt’s plan to relocate the post office

On the heels of Government’s proposed plan to move the general post office to the Town Center mall, Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Fred Mitchell on Thursday described the whole ordeal as “a shameful, naked conflict of interest that no parliamentary or constitutional device or sleight of hand will disguise.”

Mitchell was speaking out against the move as the Town Center Mall is partially owned by Minister of Immigration and Financial Services, Brent Symonette.

He said that when the Minnis Administration took office, all of the “heavy lifting,” as it relates to relocating the post office was completed.

“The traffic studies, engineering reports, social impact studies and traffic pattern studies had all been completed,” he said.

Eyewitness News also spoke with Member of Parliament for the Opposition, Glennys Hanna-Martin who said she agreed completely with the views of her party’s chairman.

She said that the previous government had taken into consideration moving the country’s mail hub to Town Centre mall, but the modifications that it would take to do so was not worth tax payers’ dollars.

Hanna-Martin further explained that the previous administration therefore agreed to a Public Private Partnership with President of La Grange Investments, Scott Godet, to have the post office moved to the Independence Drive Shopping Center.

Hanna-Martin said the former administration was not interested in leasing property to relocate the general post office, but they wanted to own the building. The proposed Public Private Partnership, she said, would have allowed them to do this.

According to Scott Godet, the agreement made was for his company, La Grange Investments, to finance renovations in preparation for the post office that would eventually lead to government ownership as the government, he said, would have paid the company back over the span of 8 years.

Godet also told Eyewitness News that the partnership is still in effect. He said now that the government has made a decision about the relocation of the general post office, it is his hope that they would focus on the Independence Drive Shopping Center and its future.

About Ginelle Longley

Ginelle Longley is a broadcast reporter and occasional TV news anchor with Eyewitness News, also serving as the station’s evening radio news anchor for 103.5 The Beat. She has reported on news beats including government, politics, crime, human interest, business and even sports. In 2018, she was nominated for the Bahamas Press Club’s “Student Media Journalism Award”.