{"id":16506,"date":"2021-05-12T11:18:24","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T16:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=16506"},"modified":"2021-05-12T11:44:10","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T16:44:10","slug":"beacon-cant-get-skelton-clines-public-contracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/beacon-cant-get-skelton-clines-public-contracts\/","title":{"rendered":"Beacon can\u2019t get Skelton-Cline\u2019s \u2018public\u2019 contracts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United Kingdom commission of inquiry has asked government consultant Claude Skelton-Cline to turn over all documents related to his contracts with the government<\/a>, he said on an April 27 broadcast of his talk show \u201cHonestly Speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

In protesting the request, Mr. SkeltonCline insisted that the contracts\u00a0 are public information, but the Beacon<\/em> has\u00a0 been unable to obtain them in spite of multiple requests over\u00a0 more than two years.<\/p>\n

During the talk show last week, the consultant read what he said was the entire text of two letters he received from Commissioner Sir Gary Hickinbottom and Secretary Steven Chandler on April 7 and April 22. As he did so, Mr. Skelton-Cline attacked the inquiry as a remnant of colonialism and \u201ca violation of basic fundamental human democratic rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first letter, he said, requested that he provide details of any arrangement between government and \u201cyou or any company and\/or business with which you are connected, for example as employee, director, shareholder, investor, owner, [or] for whom you act or have acted as a consultant advisor whether\u00a0 paid or unpaid.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter sought \u201cvoluntary disclosure of information,\u201d but it also stated that the commissioner \u201chas the powers of the judge of the High Court in respect of calling for the production of documents,\u201d he said, referencing a power under Section 10 of the COI Act.<\/p>\n

The letter, Mr. SkeltonCline added, also stated that the commissioner\u2019s \u201chope is that you will be willing to comply with the request in this letter, but if you are unwilling to comply, could you please give your reasons for noncompliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

More specifics<\/h5>\n

The second letter, dated April 22, requested specific details of any\u00a0 arrangement between the government and Mr. Skelton-Cline\u2019s company, Grace Consultants, over the past two years, he said.<\/p>\n

For instance, the letter requested all correspondence related to such arrangements, including tender documents and electronic correspondence such as emails, texts and WhatsApp messages, according to the consultant. It also requested copies of all documents relating to any payments government made to the company.<\/p>\n

If he no longer retained documents, the letter requested that he confirm what happened to that material \u2014 and if it was destroyed, when it was destroyed, he said.<\/p>\n

He went on to say that the letter also asked him to confirm the nature and content of any documents no longer available, the date of the documents, who prepared or issued them, and to whom they were sent.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the letter requested that he confirm the nature and content of any correspondence no longer available, including the dates, the identities of participants, and the means of the correspondence.<\/p>\n

\u2018Public document\u2019<\/h5>\n

After reading the letters aloud, Mr. Skelton-Cline expressed confusion over the request. \u201cMy contract is a public document registered at the High Court,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cEvery piece of information regarding the scope of works [and] the delivery of services for that contract has been given to the government via the Ministry of Finance and\/or the Premier\u2019s Office. \u2026 What I find curious is why would the COI be corresponding with me regarding government\u2019s documents, a contract issued by government, when in fact all of these items are in the possession of the government. I didn\u2019t engage the government: The government engaged me. I am a private citizen with a private company.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Beacon,<\/em> however, has been unable to obtain a copy of any of Mr. Skelton-Cline\u2019s contracts with the current government. This reporter requested copies of the contracts from the High Court Registry on Monday, but staff there said no such contracts could be located, and
\nthat the only document apparently in the registry under Mr. Skelton-Cline\u2019s name was a 2020 \u201crelease from bill of sale\u201d from the National Bank of the Virgin Islands for a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the Beacon <\/em>also has made other unsuccessful attempts to obtain copies of Mr. Skelton-Cline\u2019s consultancy contracts from him as well as Premier Andrew Fahie, Communications Director Arliene Penn, and Chief Information Officer Desiree Smith. None of them has responded to the requests.<\/p>\n

This week, Mr. Skelton-Cline did not respond to multiple messages requesting an interview and requesting copies of the COI letters and his contracts. The COI also did not immediately respond to a request from the Beacon<\/em> to address Mr. Skelton-Cline\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

image: pexels-dmitry-demidov<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United Kingdom commission of inquiry has asked government consultant Claude Skelton-Cline to turn over all documents related to his contracts with the government, he said on an April 27…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1091,"featured_media":16514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[112],"tags":[75,125],"class_list":["post-16506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-newsdevelopments","tag-british-virgin-islands","tag-public-procurement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-dmitry-demidov-3783471-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-4ie","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17906,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/vanterpool-explains-hiring-csc-and-selecting-cruise-pier-developer\/","url_meta":{"origin":16506,"position":0},"title":"Vanterpool explains hiring CSC and selecting cruise pier developer","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"August 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"While denying he commandeered the Cruise Pier Project, former Works Minister under the previous NDP government, Mark Vanterpool conceded that the procurement process to select a developer could have been different. 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