Wells asked to resign

The Nassau Guardian

Wells asked to resign

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Works Renward Wells has been approached about tendering his resignation for signing a letter of intent for a $600 million-plus waste-to-energy plant at the New Providence landfill, The Nassau Guardian can confirm.

Wells, who is also the member of Parliament for Bamboo Town, is being asked to resign as parliamentary secretary for breaching the Westminster protocol in regards to proceeding with that signing without Cabinet instructions, according to sources.

By signing the document, he acted above his pay grade, sources said.

The Guardian exclusively reported recently that Wells signed the document with Stellar Waste To Energy Bahamas Limited (SWTEB).

It would involve the project developer putting up 100 percent of the cost of the development of the facility, which would take two years to construct.

When contacted by The Nassau Guardian yesterday, Wells confirmed that he was prepared to resign, if it would mean protecting the integrity of the Westminster system he swore to uphold.

However, Wells was adamant that he, in no way, engaged in any acts that stood to result in any financial benefit to himself or any member of the government.

When asked if he met with the prime minister or the deputy prime minister, Wells acknowledged that he met with them.

But Wells said he wished not to divulge details of that meeting.

He said he will have more to say on the matter in the near future.

Wells’ boss, Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, recently confirmed to The Nassau Guardian, that Wells did not have the authority to sign the letter of intent.

This is a significant development in a matter that has attracted public attention over the last week.

This is the first time Wells has commented publicly on the matter.

Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis recently listed this as one of the reasons the Christie Cabinet should resign and an early election should be called.

The matter is likely to generate attention when the House of Assembly meets on Wednesday.

Guardian Business reported the original story the week before last.

The document seen by Guardian Business stated that it was signed on July 4 by Stellar Waste to Energy Bahamas Ltd. Principal Dr. Fabrizio Zanaboni and Wells, former chairman of the National Energy Task Force.

Wells has a history of supporting an overhaul of the landfill. He went on record in August of 2013 as saying that the current state of the landfill is a “lose-lose situation” for the country, with “enormous” potential to be used for the production of energy and recyclable materials.

His comments came after the task force, appointed in April 2013, had reviewed close to 100 proposals for energy-related projects submitted to the government.

Davis, Minister of the Environment Kenred Dorsett and another minister speaking on condition of anonymity all stated recently that they were not aware of such a signing, adding that Wells would not have the legal authority to execute such a letter at any rate.

“I know nothing about this,” Davis said at the time.

“I know of Stellar Energy. I know this company had put in a proposal some time ago, and that’s what I know about it. I know they would’ve met me once or twice to explain their proposal to me, but a matter of signing an LOI is something that would require Cabinet’s intervention. I don’t know that a parliamentary secretary would have authority to sign such a document without the direction of Cabinet; I don’t know how this came about.”

He added: “As far as we are in the process of, there’s an RFP (request for proposal) that’s been responded to, and any waste to energy component has been put on hold until we would’ve dealt with BEC.”

While Wells confirmed he would be prepared to resign to protect the integrity of the Westminster system, he declined to comment further on the issue when he spoke to The Nassau Guardian.

 

 

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