Outlet Newspaper “Fan the Flame” by Leonard Tim Hector, November 27,1998
Anthony Astaphan, Q.C. Attorney at Law : Official response to articles
published in online media about Hon. Asot A Michael MP
Outlet Newspaper “Fan the Flame” by Leonard Tim Hector, November 27,1998
Is the Lester Bird Regime Criminal?
The Allegations concerning Hurricane Luis Supplies
Take for example, the allegations surrounding the supply of hurricane relief levied against Asot Michael following Hurricane Luis. In 1995 Asot Michael was not a member of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. He was a private citizen and businessman. Hurricane Luis devastated Antigua and Barbuda. Government was not fully functional and commercial life was seriously disrupted by the destruction. There was great and urgent need for the swift importation of relief and supplies.Time was of the essence. There simply was no time for the Government to raise the necessary funds or invoke the procedures for tenders under the law.The Government turned to Asot Michael for help. Asot used his and his family’s assets to secure a line of credit at a commercial bank to purchase the material from suppliers in the United States of America, and imported 3.5 million East Caribbean dollars worth of supplies to Antigua and Barbuda for the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.
Asot’s act of good faith triggered a number of baseless allegations, which were fuelled in large measure by the late Leonard Tim Hector[1]and the Outlet newspaper. The allegations were that Asot Michael exploited the difficult circumstances caused by Hurricane Luis and made $1.000.000,00 ECD profit in an alleged “relief scam” by inflating prices. All of the allegations were false. Leonard Tim Hector had relied on a payment of $2.500.000,00 ECD in the 1996 Estimates as the basis for the allegation of the $1.000.000,00 ECD profit. But the payment reflected in the 1996 Estimates was the first and not final payment. The balance due Asot Michael was paid by the Accountant General one or two years later. Further, it was the Director of Public Works in the Ministry of Public Works Mr. Lewis who prepared the lists of the materials and supplies required by the Government, not Asot Michael.There was no inflation of prices, and Asot Michael made a mark up of approximately 10% well below thenormal commercial rates, andnot the ridiculously high figure of $1.000.000,00 ECD advanced in the public domain.
Another equally baseless allegation was that no accounting had taken place of the materials and supplies imported and delivered to the Government. All of the material and supplies were checked by the Stores Manager at the Public Works Ministry and signed off by the Director of Public Works. Also, a Special Committee headed by Mr. Hugh Pigott acknowledged receipt of the material and supplies for distribution.
Michaels Mount
Asot Michael or his immediate family never owned Michael’s Mount. The estate of the Late Maurice Michael owned it. The original Michael’s Mount was built as a Carnival Bowl in 1959 and later a top class hotel and casino were constructed. Michael’s Mount was and is the most prime land in the City of St. Johns and its environs and sat on about 10 acres of land.The late V.C. Bird, the former Chief Minister, Premier, and Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, always felt that Michael’s Mount ought to be owned by the Crown. As far as he was concerned, such a “crown jewel” should not remain in private hands. Accordingly, the late V.C. Bird began discussions with the representatives of the estate of the Late Maurice Michael as early as 1989 with a view to the purchase of Michael’s Mount. At that time, Asot Michael was a student at Barry University in Miami, Florida.
In 1994 the Government of Antigua and Barbuda led by Lester B Bird concluded the purchase of Michael’s Mount for an intended hotel training school and a center for cultural and tourist activities. Michael’s Mount was valued by two independent professional civil engineers and land appraisal persons namely Mr. J.A.W. Griffith, M.I.C.E. and Lewis Simon & Partners. The Government paid about $30.00 ECD a square foot for Michael’s Mount including reinforced concrete buildings and land.Less valuable and vacant lands adjacent to Michael’s Mount are now being sold for $40.00 ECD a square foot. The Minister of Finance was intricately involved and raised the money by resolution under the Finance and Audit Act. The suggestion that a separate Act of Parliament was required is wrong. At all material times the Minister of Finance involved was the Honourable Molwyn Joseph.
Again, Asot Michael was nowhere in the picture. He was not part of the Government and played no role in the negotiations or purchase. He was at the material times at University College of London as a first year law student. Some time later, the Prime Minister and Government decided to use Michael’s Mount as the site for the new state of the art medical facility. Construction of the medical faculty began and recently the Baldwin Spencer led Government announced that finances were secured to complete construction of the facility.
The Media
Some context must be noted. The media[2] in Antigua is highly partisan and political. Truth is not something that sets them free. There is with the exception of the Antigua Sun newspaper no “independent” media in Antigua and Barbuda. There is on the one hand the State owned ABS radio and television station, and on the other the Observer radio and newspaper and Crusader radio. Observer is owned by the Derricks, and Crusader by the United Progressive Party. Greville Radio, a company owned by the Bird family, owns ZDK and Sun FM. The ACLM and Leonard Tim Hector operated the Outlet. The Outlet[3], Observer Group, and in later years Crusader embarked on a relentless campaign of misinformation. Reputations were torn apart on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, certain sectors of the foreign media like the Miami Herald and the BBC report mentioned earlier fed off that misinformation and disseminated it as fact! Responsible journalism was thrown out the window in the expectation of sensationalism, profit, or to score cheap political points.
What were the options? In the Caribbean a public reply works sometimes, but in most cases a reply created the platform for further escalation. “Talk radio” had become a deadly virus eating away at the heart and soul of our democratic institutions and respect for the rights and reputations of others. When a debate is prolonged politically whether in self-defence or otherwise, partisan hosts of the “talk shows” and activist supporters ensured that belief or acceptance of “the truth” was premised almost entirely along partisan grounds. So increasingly, politicians resorted to the High Court for redress. But that did not work. By the time a trial date is set or cases heard, “talk radio” and the public debate had fully prostituted the truth and facts, ripping reputations to shreds. Classic examples are the defamation cases by Lester B Bird, which have not been heard by the Court although filed years ago.Once lost a reputation, like virginity, can never be regained, not even in the face of a public apology or compensation. The consequences of that hostile context are insidious and deadly.
The manifestations of that dangerous context exposed themselves again on the occasions when Mr. Bird sued to defend himself, the case filed against him by Monique Barua was withdrawn, and the BBC public apologized and paid compensation to Mr. Lester B Bird. An honest and reasonable bystander would assume that those occasions established that several of the allegations slung over Mr. Bird’s and Asot Michael’s neck like albatrosses were false. But that was not to be. The partisan and hostile media and serpent like “talk shows” drowned the occasions out and buried them under an avalanche of hate and misinformation.
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