Spencer Behaving Like Chavez

Details

Politics

Thursday, 05 July 2012 02:30

By Everton Barnes

Antigua St. John’s - Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has been accused of displaying tendencies similar to those utilised by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is viewed in some quarters as a dictator.

The assertion comes from the representative for the St Mary’s North constituency, Molwyn Joseph, who also hosts a radio programme, “Fire and Steel”.

Speaking on Wednesday’s installment of the programme, Joseph said he was not surprised by the Prime Minister’s refusal to set up an inquiry into all the details surrounding the Wadadli Power Plant (WPP) at Crabb’s, financed and built by the Chinese.

“The Prime Minister has a history of ignoring the concerns of people on various issues and I question his reasonableness. His history is that he has become a dictator. Part of (Venezuelan President Hugo) Chavez’s behaviour is rubbing off on him,” he observed.

Joseph also took Spencer to task for his statement that the government’s failure to take the loan agreement for the WPP to Parliament as required by law. He said Spencer’s claim that a law passed by the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) government back in 2002 provides a ‘cover’ for the government’s action, is an ‘absurdity’.

He noted that while the law provides certain discretion, it also provides a time frame in which the matter ought to go before Parliament for approval.

The senior ALP official also said his party has now unified its stance on the WPP matter. “We now have a consolidation of the views of the leaders of the ALP regarding the power plant. There is no longer the kind of differences that existed in the past between us. The leadership have now unified behind the stance that we have been pursuing these past months and everyone recognizes that it was the right decision,” Joseph explained.

He said Spencer’s refusal to set up an inquiry into the power plant affair has provided the impetus for the ALP leadership to come together in a unified manner.

“The change came in response to the Prime Minister’s refusal to heed efforts made to get him to act reasonable,” he stated.

Last week, ALP Chairman, Gaston Browne penned a letter to Spencer urging him to set up either an inquiry or an independent investigation into the WPP affair. Spencer gave an undertaking that he would discuss the matter with his Cabinet, but this week he gave a flat ‘no’ to the request.

The WPP has been shrouded in controversy and there are claims and counter-claims that the engines are not new and that Antigua and Barbuda did not get ‘value for money’ in the transaction.

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