K. Peter Turnquest, like anyone else, is innocent until and unless proven guilty, but he should resign from Cabinet while the existing cloud of fraud allegations hangs over his head.
To be clear, this would not be an admission of guilt, or an acknowledgement that he has behaved in a manner that has brought shame and scandal to the Minnis administration or the country, but it would be a recognition that in the national interest, and in keeping with the long established conventions of our system of government, this would be the honorable course to take.
In public life, and in his private and professional life, Turnquest is widely viewed as a man of integrity.
When he was elected to Parliament in 2012, he pledged to provide East Grand Bahama with “honest, fair and effective representation”.
As shadow minister of finance, Turnquest, a certified public accountant by profession, did a decent job in holding to account an administration that failed to demonstrate a commitment to accountability and transparency.
In 2014 when he became deputy leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), he worked through the many tumultuous moments of a deeply fractured party; he remained loyal to Dr. Hubert Minnis in the leader’s darkest days in politics when other members of the opposition’s parliamentary caucus brought out the daggers in 2016.
For that loyalty, Turnquest was rewarded with a renomination, and after the FNM’s victory in May 2017, he became deputy prime minister and took his seat at the Cabinet table as finance minister with the awesome responsibility of reversing a culture of waste and fiscal mismanagement.
Today, he faces his most critical challenge yet in public office — a direct attack on his integrity and on his reputation.
He has so far presented a brave front, but we imagine he is deeply disturbed and saddened by the allegations, which have already inflicted some degree of damage to his reputation.
Though he is curiously not named as a defendant, Turnquest is accused of being a conspirator in a scheme that allegedly defrauded two companies — Alpha Aviation Limited and Advanced Aviation Limited — of around $28 million.
Turnquest was a director and manager of those companies.
The alleged fraudulent acts occurred between 2008 and 2017, according to a writ filed on November 16 by the law firm of Michael Scott, QC, a prominent FNM and chairman of the Hotel Corporation.
The writ alleges that Randy Butler, Sky Bahamas Airlines Limited and Aviation Oversight Group Ltd. together with Turnquest conspired “wrongfully and with intent to injure” those companies and/or “to cause loss to them by unlawful means and/or to enrich themselves…”
The writ alleges that “as at December 31, 2017” the “conspirators” dishonestly caused the companies to pay out via “bogus loans” and wire transfers millions of dollars to entities owned and controlled by Turnquest and Butler.
The December 2017 date has caught the attention of many. And for good reason.
Turnquest has been a Cabinet minister since May 2017.
We will have to await the evidence to determine whether the plaintiffs are directly claiming he conspired to commit fraud while a minister.
Turnquest currently has no case to answer before the courts, but Butler’s lawyers are considering having him joined as a defendant, National Review understands.
While some of our PLP friends have urged us to get into the reported evidence of the case, to “dig deeper” and to “ask probing questions” on what Turnquest did and did not do as a director of those companies, it is not the role of media to try cases.
The court will decide whether the allegations have merit.
It is not reasonable to expect that in our columns, but it is reasonable to opine on the impact the filed action is having and may have on our national reputation and on Turnquest’s standing as a minister of government.
There is just no getting around it. In politics and in national life, perception matters.
Having the finance minister suspected of wrongdoing is worrisome. It has implications that go beyond our national borders.
Above suspicion
Since The Punch newspaper published the exclusive on this story last Thursday, it has been widely reported in the mainstream media and even raised in the upper chamber by Opposition Leader in the Senate Fred Mitchell.
Seeking to score a political victory — as any opposition party would in a matter of this nature — the PLP has repeatedly called on Turnquest to resign or for Prime Minister Minnis to fire him.
Minnis has so far refused to say publicly that Turnquest still enjoys his full confidence, although one might argue that the DPM’s position at the Cabinet table speaks for itself.
When asked about the matter on Monday, the prime minister said that the Cabinet was “deliberating”.
“It’s a court matter right now and Cabinet is deliberating on it,” he said. “We will get back to you as soon as Cabinet completes our deliberations and discussions.”
A reporter had asked the prime minister to respond to calls for the finance minister’s resignation and also asked whether there was any consideration for an “official investigation” into the claims.
One always knows when the prime minister is ducking an important topic. He makes unintelligible statements. He distracts.
In making his off-the-cuff comment to reporters, Minnis might have intentionally left the door open for him to come back and fire Turnquest.
No one should expect Minnis to come back and announce the results of the so-called Cabinet deliberations on the matter — as he claimed he will do.
The matter of the DPM’s presence in Cabinet is not a matter for the Cabinet, but one for the prime minister who alone has the authority to appoint ministers and to remove them.
Minnis is shamelessly passing the buck.
FNMs, meanwhile, are curiously quiet.
The party’s chairman, known to release poorly worded and usually vacuous statements on all manner of subjects, has backed off expressing any support for the deputy prime minister.
Interestingly, John Wilson, QC, opined in an interview with Eyewitness News that there is no reason for Turnquest to resign over what he called untested and unproven allegations contained in the writ.
“I really see no justification why anyone should resign over simple allegations in a writ of summons, because that is all it is — allegations,” Wilson stated.
A prominent FNM, speaking with National Review yesterday, with no expectation of attribution, said also that he sees no reason for a resignation based on allegations only.
“If that were the case,” he said, “anyone wanting to damage or force a minister to resign could simply file bogus allegations before the courts.”
He opined that this would be a dangerous precedent to set.
For his part, Turnquest released a brief statement on Thursday night denying what he called false claims and saying he was appalled that his standing as a public servant made calling his name in this dispute between his former business partners worthwhile.
The DPM called the writ a “misuse of our justice system” and said he is confident the facts will defend his integrity once presented.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Turnquest said, “I think you guys have known me for at least eight years now, most of you. And I think that you know that I’m focused on what I do. I’m very disciplined about what I do.
“The matters that are circulating out there are unfortunate. They will be dealt with in due course of time but, again, I’m focused on working for the Bahamian people while I have the opportunity to do so; and I’ll do my best to ensure that we get through this crisis (an apparent reference to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic).”
Asked whether he thinks calls for his resignation are warranted, he said, “We’ll see what happens, but as far as I’m concerned I’m focused on working for the Bahamian people.”
We imagine that Turnquest’s advisors have advised him to stay on message — “working for the Bahamian people” has emerged as a theme in his responses.
But like Cesar’s wife, the nation’s finance minister must be above suspicion.
Turnquest’s statement, it appears, was an attempt to move above the fray and to somehow try to tap our sympathies and recognition of him as a serious, focused and disciplined minister, but his response falls short.
Reputation
Hanging on while defending his good name might be more a move of self preservation than in the national interest.
It will be a distraction. It already has become that.
Arinthia Komolafe, leader of the Democratic National Alliance and the party’s spokesperson for finance, encapsulated this point best in a statement she released yesterday, noting that given that the DPM occupies a major office in the current administration, it is important that the reputation of the holder of this office remains untainted.
“At a time that our nation is facing an economic and health crisis, we cannot afford to have this albatross around the neck of our country,” Komalafe stated.
“Our efforts to bring about economic recovery must not be derailed by a legal matter that could take some time to conclude. The DPM should not want his personal affairs to serve as a distraction to the nation and negatively impact The Bahamas’ reputation globally. He should step down or take a leave of absence for the sake of our nation until the case is concluded.”
In considering our position on this matter, we considered the fact that the presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle in the rule of law.
But it is our view that the nation is deserving of a minister of finance, negotiating on its behalf and interfacing with important international institutions and agencies, who is not simultaneously under a cloud of suspicion and trying to defend his reputation.
The stakes are high for The Bahamas right now: our fiscal house is in disarray; our government is borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars at a time to keep us afloat; we have faced multiple downgrades of our credit rating; there are ongoing blacklisting threats, and our economy is in shambles.
A similar point was made in a statement on Saturday, released by former Minister of state for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez, QC, who said it is apposite to note the reputation of The Bahamas.
“We have relations with the FATF, the CFATF, the OECD, the IDB, the CDB, the OAS, ECLAC, the World Bank, the IMF, the EU, Canada and the USA. Our national and international standing is not a political football nor is this matter a game. Our national reputation demands of our government that every step be taken to preserve it,” he said.
We believe the optics of this matter are likely to erode confidence among the Bahamian public and also in the international arena.
There must be no doubt that our finance minister will be viewed as credible in global circles. Currently, there is doubt. It will likely grow as this controversy builds steam in the coming weeks.
The best course of action, we feel, would be for the finance minister to recognize these factors and offer his resignation.
One of his colleagues speaking with us this week, interestingly observed, “You can’t want the benefits of high office and not accept the burden of responsibility.”
That colleague added, “The burden of public life is that it doesn’t afford you the luxury of fighting a personal integrity battle while carrying out the duty of high office, and, despite it being an issue for the opposition, if one steps back objectively and cling strongly to the greater good, the greater good would actually lead to a resignation, not bowing to political pressure, but the consideration is what’s in the best interest of the country.”
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/a-case-for-resignation/
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