Director of the National Insurance Board (NIB) Algernon Cargill alleges in his 33-page affidavit that immediately after Gregory Moss' appointment as chairman of NIB in July, the Marco City MP took actions at the agency that were cause for concern. Cargill says Moss assumed the role of chairman as though he had been appointed executive chairman with day-to-day responsibilities and management of NIB. According to Cargill, "From the outset, Mr. Moss sought to control personally the day-to-day operations of NIB." He says in the affidavit, "I expressed my concerns about Mr. Gregory Moss' actions as if he were the statutory director of NIB or an executive chairman to Minister [of Labour and National Insurance] Shane Gibson."
The director points to the alleged friction between the chairman and himself, between the chairman and other executives of NIB and between the chairman and Minister Gibson. Cargill says the very first communication he received from Moss was a memorandum dated July 19, 2012 that included a revised agenda for the Board of Directors meeting to be held that day. He says this memorandum included a resolution revoking the spending authority of any and all directors and executives of NIB, save and except in respect of payment of employees, utilities and other business expenses in the normal course of business of NIB.
"The financial controller expressed her concern in writing that this resolution in effect made management powerless in executing its day-to-day functions and prepared a response to this resolution where management sought some relief and obtained approval to pay only emergency expenses up to $50,000 and certain other expenses for contracts already negotiated," the affidavit says. "The effect of this resolution is that management was in a state of bewilderment and confusion as there remains no clear direction as to the role of management and the role and authority of the chairman of the Board of Directors."
Cargill says the second communication he received from Moss was on July 20, 2012. He says Moss requested that the director's office be relocated to the present chairman's office and vice versa. "Mr. Moss also advised me that I should relocate any furniture as I consider appropriate and he will speak with me regarding any new furnishing that is needed for the new chairman's office," Cargill says.
"Although we did not have a discussion on this matter, Ms. Theresa Burrows, VP of business support, advised me on my return from vacation in early August 2012 that Mr. Gregory Moss advised her that she should contract an interior decorator to ensure that the former director's office, now occupied by the chairman, is decorated at a standard befitting of a minister." He says the director of NIB has occupied the former director's office since the building was constructed in 1991, as the full-time statutory operational head of NIB.
The affidavit says the building does include a full time office for the chairman and all previous chairmen occupied this office whenever they visited NIB for board, committee and other meetings. Energy audit Cargill also says in his affidavit that Moss advised him at their first social meeting at the Hilton hotel on July 19, 2012 that he wanted his assistance with the approval of an energy study of NIB's properties to be conducted by Earth and Sun Energy Company Ltd., "a company beneficially owned by Mr. Gregory Smith, a former insurance executive with Star General Insurance Company in Grand Bahama, and that Mr. Smith was a business partner in his office complex in Grand Bahama".
Cargill also attached a copy of a public notice published in The Tribune Business Section on October 3 in which AFS Insurance Agents & Brokers Ltd. says Smith "is no longer authorized to transact any business or collect any money on behalf of AFS Insurance Agents & Brokers Ltd.". Cargill says in the affidavit that the due diligence on Earth and Sun Energy Company Ltd. indicated that it was newly incorporated and there was no evidence provided that the company had successfully completed any energy studies that were beneficial to its clients.
"Mr. Moss subsequently consulted with Ms. Theresa Burrows, VP of business support, and requested that she prepare a check for $42,000, being the payment in full for the energy study to be completed by Mr. Smith's company," the affidavit says. Cargill says both he and Burrows advised that NIB should not proceed with the issuance of the check as it was not NIB's policy to pay fully in advance for any work to be completed, and they were not satisfied that any benefit could be derived to NIB from the study to be completed by Smith's newly incorporated company.
He says NIB had several offers for free energy studies, and had also completed a similar study in 2011, for approximately $3,000, and Moss' directive was to now pay $42,000 for the same type of work. According to the affidavit, Burrows advised Moss of this in a meeting and advised him of Minister Gibson's reluctance to approve this payment. "Ms. Theresa Burrows was subsequently advised by Minister Shane Gibson to not proceed with the energy study payment and the efforts to obtain the $42,000 payment from NIB were abandoned by Mr. Gregory Moss," the affidavit alleges.
Cargill filed his affidavit in support of legal action he has taken against Moss and N.I.B. While Moss has advised Minister Gibson in writing that the board has voted to terminate Cargill, the director is on administrative leave pending the outcome of a forensic audit into operations at NIB. Cargill is suing for wrongful and unfair dismissal, defamation and breach of the Data Protection Act.
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