Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis yesterday defended his party from accusations that the Ingraham administration approved the outsourcing of jobs at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) during its majority sale to Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC).
Minnis said the Ingraham administration negotiated a veto clause which could be used by the government as long as it retains at least a 15 percent interest in BTC.
He was responding to statements from government negotiator, Franklyn Wilson, and BTC board member, Bradley Roberts, on the issue.
"Be reassured that the FNM would have ensured that whatever is in the business plan would have protected Bahamians and Bahamian jobs," Minnis said.
"As long as The Bahamas government owns [at least] 15 percent, and we own 49 percent of BTC we have veto power.
"The clause in the business plan is that any jobs that Cable & Wireless attempts to export out of The Bahamas, the government can stop it through its veto power.
"If any jobs are lost I can say categorically that the present government, the PLP, would not have utilized the veto power that we left to protect Bahamians."
Minnis said the government should be doing more to protect Bahamian jobs and should be focused on recent outsourcing in the banking sector and in the hotel sector.
On Tuesday, Wilson told The Nassau Guardian that if BTC were to outsource, it would be the result of conditions the Ingraham administration agreed to in the 2011 sale.
Roberts, who is also the Progressive Liberal Party's chairman, raised the same point in a statement on Tuesday.
"In a presentation before the FNM Cabinet of the first business plan for a privatized BTC, the 95-page PowerPoint presentation presented to Cabinet at or around February 1, 2011, [the] former prime minister and the entire FNM crew agreed that Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) could decimate BTC after the first year of privatization and outsource all its main functions to CWC operations abroad," Roberts said.
The outsourcing claims were raised by the FNM on Monday.
FNM Chairman, Darron Cash, released a statement claiming BTC is set to begin a "massive outsourcing program" that could lead to the loss of several hundred Bahamian jobs.
Cash also said the FNM understands that Leon Williams, the former BTC CEO, is being considered to resume his old post.
BTC's Board said yesterday there are "no such plans to restructure the business".

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