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Tourism Minister calls Minnis' Bahamasair comments 'irresponsible'

Wed, Feb 8th 2023, 01:06 PM
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TOURISM, Aviation and Investments Minister Chester Cooper said former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was "irresponsible" when he told parliamentarians on Monday that millions of dollars were missing from Bahamasair.

Dr Minnis, during his contribution to debate on the 2022 Fiscal Strategy Report, alleged in Parliament Monday night that “millions of dollars” had disappeared from Bahamasair’s branch in Haiti, which he blamed on travel agents and baggage handlers there.
#“Millions of dollars have disappeared from Bahamasair by travel agents in Haiti... and they have remained quiet,” Dr Minnis said. “Where has the money gone?
#“Maybe, that is why you see Bahamasair suspend flights to Haiti. That’s a part of it.”
#The leader of government business, Obie Wilchcombe, asked Dr Minnis to substantiate the claim or withdraw it. However, the Killarney MP declined to withdraw his comments.
#Yesterday, Mr Cooper called the remarks irresponsible and said there was no missing money.
#He said some $500,000 was sitting in a bank account in Haiti and that officials were hoping to soon recover it.
#“I am advised that the former Prime Minister Minnis made some assertions that there was money missing in Haiti. This comment was most irresponsible. There is no missing money. There is an ongoing reconciliation matter,” Mr Cooper said before going to a Cabinet meeting.
#“The amount is in the range of $500,000. The former prime minister indicated that it was millions of dollars missing. If he knows where the millions are, we would be happy to recover it. Bahamasair has indicated that the amount in question was in the region of $500,000.”
#“It was a reconciliation matter. The matter is sitting on an account in Haiti and they expect it will be fully recovered by the end of this week so perhaps the (former) Prime Minister was looking for headlines on this point, but it’s a matter that’s being handled by the board and management of Bahamasair.”
#In a statement issued last night, Bahamasair said Dr Minnis’ claim of millions of dollars being missing in Haiti was “not true”.
#The statement said: “During the pandemic, Bahamasair suspended services into both Port-au- Prince and Cape Haitien, Haiti. During this period, certain administrative and reconciliation issues occurred within the company that provided handling and representation services for Bahamasair in Haiti. As a result, funds related to sales within Haiti were deposited into the bank in Haiti once service resumed.”
#Bahamasair said a total of around $530,000 in deposits were made by the company’s handling agent from ticket sales, which had been reconciled with no dispute, and that those funds would be received shortly in the course of business.
#There is also a reconciliation taking place, said Bahamasair, of a difference of “some $38,000 in bags and other fees, which the airline expects to have completed in short order”.
#The company said: “The above constitute the complete reconciliation process for the airline’s affairs in Haiti relating to our handlers and we reiterate that this is purely an administrative matter.”
#Cooper also addressed the suspension of Bahamasair’s weekly flights to Port-au-Prince, saying the move was made for security reasons.
#“You may recall that recently, the Foreign Affairs Ministry withdrew our personnel from Haiti,” Mr Cooper added.
#“It stemmed from similar concerns and that is the sole reason why Bahamasair has suspended its flight to Haiti. You may or may not know that this a profitable route for Bahamasair but Bahamasair is determined by its personnel and its equipment is of great value and, therefore, they have determined that until things are settled, they will return.”
#On Sunday, Tracy Cooper, Bahamasair’s chief executive officer, confirmed to Tribune Business that the national flag carrier had suspended its flights to Haiti’s capital since January 28.
#He said the deteriorating security situation in Port-au-Prince had upended the national flag carrier’s Haiti business model to the extent that flights to the northern coastal city of Cape Haitian instead are departing with 98 percent average load factors (passenger capacity).
#The demand has forced Bahamasair to deploy one of its 138-seater jets to the route, marking a reversal from when Port-au-Prince would have been the prime destination and merited such capacity.
#The airline suspended services to the Haitian capital after it was reported that five Bahamians from Bahamasair were unable to leave Port-au-Prince’s airport due to protests by police force members over gang-related killings of their comrades.

Dr Minnis, during his contribution to debate on the 2022 Fiscal Strategy Report, alleged in Parliament Monday night that “millions of dollars” had disappeared from Bahamasair’s branch in Haiti, which he blamed on travel agents and baggage handlers there.

“Millions of dollars have disappeared from Bahamasair by travel agents in Haiti... and they have remained quiet,” Dr Minnis said. “Where has the money gone?

“Maybe, that is why you see Bahamasair suspend flights to Haiti. That’s a part of it.”

The leader of government business, Obie Wilchcombe, asked Dr Minnis to substantiate the claim or withdraw it. However, the Killarney MP declined to withdraw his comments.

Yesterday, Mr Cooper called the remarks irresponsible and said there was no missing money.

He said some $500,000 was sitting in a bank account in Haiti and that officials were hoping to soon recover it.

“I am advised that the former Prime Minister Minnis made some assertions that there was money missing in Haiti. This comment was most irresponsible. There is no missing money. There is an ongoing reconciliation matter,” Mr Cooper said before going to a Cabinet meeting.

“The amount is in the range of $500,000. The former prime minister indicated that it was millions of dollars missing. If he knows where the millions are, we would be happy to recover it. Bahamasair has indicated that the amount in question was in the region of $500,000.”

“It was a reconciliation matter. The matter is sitting on an account in Haiti and they expect it will be fully recovered by the end of this week so perhaps the (former) Prime Minister was looking for headlines on this point, but it’s a matter that’s being handled by the board and management of Bahamasair.”

In a statement issued last night, Bahamasair said Dr Minnis’ claim of millions of dollars being missing in Haiti was “not true”.

The statement said: “During the pandemic, Bahamasair suspended services into both Port-au- Prince and Cape Haitien, Haiti. During this period, certain administrative and reconciliation issues occurred within the company that provided handling and representation services for Bahamasair in Haiti. As a result, funds related to sales within Haiti were deposited into the bank in Haiti once service resumed.”

Bahamasair said a total of around $530,000 in deposits were made by the company’s handling agent from ticket sales, which had been reconciled with no dispute, and that those funds would be received shortly in the course of business.

There is also a reconciliation taking place, said Bahamasair, of a difference of “some $38,000 in bags and other fees, which the airline expects to have completed in short order”.

The company said: “The above constitute the complete reconciliation process for the airline’s affairs in Haiti relating to our handlers and we reiterate that this is purely an administrative matter.”

Cooper also addressed the suspension of Bahamasair’s weekly flights to Port-au-Prince, saying the move was made for security reasons.

“You may recall that recently, the Foreign Affairs Ministry withdrew our personnel from Haiti,” Mr Cooper added.

“It stemmed from similar concerns and that is the sole reason why Bahamasair has suspended its flight to Haiti. You may or may not know that this a profitable route for Bahamasair but Bahamasair is determined by its personnel and its equipment is of great value and, therefore, they have determined that until things are settled, they will return.”

On Sunday, Tracy Cooper, Bahamasair’s chief executive officer, confirmed to Tribune Business that the national flag carrier had suspended its flights to Haiti’s capital since January 28.

He said the deteriorating security situation in Port-au-Prince had upended the national flag carrier’s Haiti business model to the extent that flights to the northern coastal city of Cape Haitian instead are departing with 98 percent average load factors (passenger capacity).

The demand has forced Bahamasair to deploy one of its 138-seater jets to the route, marking a reversal from when Port-au-Prince would have been the prime destination and merited such capacity.

The airline suspended services to the Haitian capital after it was reported that five Bahamians from Bahamasair were unable to leave Port-au-Prince’s airport due to protests by police force members over gang-related killings of their comrades.

Click here to read more at The Tribune

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