CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – A senior member of the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) had claimed that millions of dollars went missing under the former Nevis Reformation Party-led Nevis Island Administration and is asking: “Where this money gone?”
This alleged financial issue was raised by the Hon. Alexis Jeffers, Minister of Communications, Works and Public Utilities, Agriculture, Land and Housing, Cooperatives and Fisheries, Environment, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Posts, on Saturday night (Oct. 18) at the launch of the CCM’s election campaign in the vicinity of the Charlestown Magistrate’s Court.
Jeffers told the relatively large gathering of supporters that prior to losing the 2006 Election, the CCM Administration had garnered millions of dollars through the sale of lands, which it left along with millions of US dollars in an escrow account for the new administration to use for the benefit of citizens and residents of Nevis.
“In 2004, the Honourable Vance Amory and his team then, negotiated the purchase of 730 acres of land down at Pinney's. They sold 600 acres to Newfound; 21.5 million dollars was that sale.
Before the CCM left government in 2006, they collected just about 11 million dollars. It means then that the NRP would have collected the remaining 10.5 million dollars; that’s US I'm talking. And if you were to calculate that in EC...that's just about 28, 29 million dollars thereabout. That’s what the NRP collected.
“They also left behind, that’s the CCM, a 10 million dollar escrow account out there at Scotia Bank. The NRP used up that too you know! Ten million US dollars! Add them up, that's 20.5 million dollars. Now they sold over 160 acres of land that was left down there at Pinney's and realised another almost 50 million dollars out of those. So all those monies that they realised, you ask yourself, ‘Where this money gone?’ And we have been looking for this money...we have been searching for it! Where is this money?”
Taking his position on the political platform, the CCM’s Leader and Premier of Nevis, Hon. Vance Amory, corroborated Jeffers’ claims of the missing millions.
“We heard Alexis talking, and what he’s saying is true. Where have all those millions of dollars gone? Ten million dollars put aside to pay back a 10 million dollar loan...gone, poof, that’s a Douggie disease...poof. They took another nine-plus million dollars, because they took back 170 acres of land up above the water mark, above the high contour mark. That they got nine-something million US dollars we're talking about...poof. And ladies and gentlemen I am not really making jokes about this thing you know. This is serious business you know, because, when you elect people you elect them to hold your money and to do your business in trust for yourselves; and if they can't be trusted and have proven themselves not to be trusted, then why they coming back to you...to tell you what?”
Amory stressed that his Administration is trying to get the Audit Report that the NRP Administration had submitted to the Nevis Assembly for 2006 accounts, so that the people on that island could be sensitised on the issue.
“I am hearing from my finance people that we discussing in debate our budget, that the last audit report given to the Assembly was for the accounts of 2006. So we are now trying to get the audit report, because that is what we shall rely on to tell the people of this country what has happened, but we have the evidence there, so Alexis is correct.”
Last week, on his ‘On The Mark’ talk show programme, CCM’s Deputy Leader and Deputy Premier of Nevis the Hon. Mark Brantley said that the CCM would be rolling out its “Big Blue Machine” on Saturday with the launch of its election campaign and he had “a big trunk to open”.
Speaking with SKNVibes yesterday (Oct. 20), Brantley said he was pleased with the turnout at the launch and much more would be revealed as the campaign continues.
