Former BVI Airports Authority Chairman Glenn Harrigan wrote a scathing letter to Premier Andrew Fahie this month, claiming that some of Mr. Fahie’s July criticisms of the BVIAA were false and possibly defamatory.
In mid-July, Mr. Fahie stood in the House of Assembly—where he has immunity from defamation claims—and called the authority a “rabbit hole of mismanagement, deception, profligacy and quite possibly misappropriation of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.”
But in an Aug. 14 letter obtained by the Beacon this week, Mr.Harrigan fired back, telling the premier that his description placed undue blame on the BVIAA and in some instances included outright falsehoods.
“The July 16th statement and the ensuing dialogue that now abounds, if not addressed, threatens to defame and smear the good name, reputation and character [that former BVIAA board members] have spent their professional lives developing,” Mr. Harrigan wrote.
Runway repairs
In his address to the HOA, Mr. Fahie noted that discussions about refurbishing the runway atTerrance B. Lettsome International Airport resulted in government awarding two loans, for $5 million and $5.5 million, to the BVIAA for completion of the project. Mr. Harrigan, however, claimed that the initial $5 million was given to the BVIAA in early 2018 as a grant, and the BVIAA never received any notice from government that the money would have to be paid back.
“It is reiterated that BVIAA never had any discussion or received any correspondence from the government indicating these funds should be treated as a loan,” he said.
But Mr. Fahie had told a different story. At a June 2019 meeting between the new BVIAA board and BVIAA managers, he claimed, the government’s financial secretary affirmed that both sums were indeed awarded as loans. The premier added that the attending BVIAA managers had attempted to fool the new board and convince them otherwise.
“It was very troubling to learn that when management met with the board in June, attempts were made to pull the wool over their eyes,” Mr. Fahie said, adding, “The attempt to mislead the new board was thwarted by the presence of the financial secretary, who sits as an ex-officio member of the board and who was able to confirm that the authority is obligated to repay these sums.”
Mr. Fahie added that “key pieces of documentation,” including board resolutions concerning the $5 million loan,“cannot be found”—a claim that Mr. Harrigan didn’t directly address in his letter.
As of press time yesterday afternoon, neither Mr. Fahie nor Financial Secretary Glenroy Forbes could be reached for comment.
Timing
Mr. Harrigan also disputed Mr. Fahie’s timeline for the first sum issued to the BVIAA. During his July statement,Mr. Fahie suggested that the original sum of $5 million was loaned to the BVIAA prior to the 2017 hurricanes.
Mr. Harrigan refuted this claim. The discussions about the money needed to fix the run way, and the resulting allocation of $5 million, all took place between late 2017 and early 2018, after the hurricanes struck the territory, Mr. Harrigan said.
“The assertion that funds were received in 2017 prior to the hurricanes is also inaccurate,” he added.
Money troubles
Though Messrs. Harrigan and Fahie dispute the terms and timing of the $5 million loan, Mr. Harrigan did, however, acknowledge that the BVIAA used the money to pay for employee salaries and other “operating expenses.”