Plans by the Bermuda Government to enter into a controversial $200 million airport development deal with a Canadian government-owned company hang in the balance, as relations between the UK and Bermuda chill.
Bermuda is yet to agree to the terms of an “entrustment letter” from the UK Government outlining the conditions under which it would allow the island to contract with the Canadian Commercial Corporation.
Government and CCC had been working toward a December 31 deadline to green-light the proposal, but that has now been extended.
“Preliminary work on the project is ongoing. A news release will be issued by the Government of Bermuda when a go/no-go decision is made,” said a CCC spokesperson.
“I can confirm there are ongoing discussions between the UK and Bermuda about the entrustment letter but I cannot comment any further at this time,” said Deputy Governor Ginny Ferson.
“The Minister will have more to say on this subject in due course,” a spokesperson for Finance Minister Bob Richards said.
The local government’s official position – disputed by Whitehall – is that the UK’s entrustment letter is not legally required.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond issued the entrustment letter to the Governor on November 10, the same date Bermuda, a colony of the UK, signed a non-binding MOU signalling its intention to contract with CCC.
Mr Richards’ view is that the agreement does not concern foreign affairs per se but a commercial relationship concerning the construction of a terminal building. But he told parliament last month that he wanted to ensure all parties were fully on board with the plans.
Under the constitution foreign affairs are the sole responsibility of the UK.
The UK’s seven-point entrustment letter specifies that the airport project “meet value for money tests in accordance with best practice set out in Her Majesty’s Treasury Green Book,” that an independent accounting firm must verify compliance before any deal is finalized and that Whitehall pre-approve any proposed contract.
The “value for money tests” in the UK Treasury’s Green Book do not contemplate a sole sourced contract with CCC as envisioned by the Bermuda Government.
And the Opposition Progressive Labour Party has opposed the proposal – which would see CCC redevelop the airport and take over its revenue streams for several decades – as “privatisation through the back door”.
Richards has defended the proposal saying a new airport is badly needed, cannot be paid for under conventional procurement methods due to the island’s debt position and that the project would be a boost to the economy.
CCC was formed in the 1940s to facilitate international trade on behalf of Canadian companies. Its agreement with the Bermuda Government stipulates that it will select a Canadian developer which will contract with a yet to be created Bermuda Airport Authority to develop and manage the project.
Bermuda’s disagreement with the UK over the entrustment letter is just one source of friction between between the mid Atlantic territory and its colonial overseer.
It has declined to comply with the UK’s request to establish a publicly accessible central registry identifying beneficial owners of companies.
And relations chilled further with the announcement yesterday that Governor George Fergusson had reappointed Rory Field as the island’s Director of Public Prosecutions.
Premier Michael Dunkley told the country that he was “disappointed” that the Governor had not appointed a local to the post and that he would be taking his concerns to the UK Minister in charge of the colonies. Dunkley had already “strongly expressed” his concerns to the Governor, according to an official statement.
This article belongs to Politica ! The original article can be found here: Bermuda – UK talks over airport deal “ongoing”
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