Minister
Sued Over Korean Boats
19/03/2004
The
saga of the Korean fishing boats takes on a new dimension as the owners take
the government to court seeking to quash a decision withdrawing their
permission to fish in Bahamian waters.
Attorneys
for Earlin Williams, president of Netsiwill Holdings Limited, want the Supreme
Court to overturn a determination made by Agriculture and Fisheries Minister V.
Alfred Gray that the vessels were not fully Bahamian owned.
His
attorneys plan to argue that Minister Gray had no power under law to cancel the
permit, as the boats were fully owned by a Bahamian entity.
Mr.
Williams insisted Thursday that, "The boats were mine at the outset of the
mortgage."
His
company reportedly secured the $2.5 million mortgage from Koreans for the
vessels. Mr. Williams has since said
that the Koreans turned ownership of the boats over to him for $1.
After
determining that the boats were not fully Bahamian owned, Minister Gray revoked
Netsiwill's permit to conduct commercial fishing in Bahamian waters. The
Department of Fisheries also revoked the registration certificate for the
vessels.
"I'm
still curious as to how the Customs authorities were in a position to revoke my
duty-free status," Mr. Williams told the Journal.
He
added that the Minister "misdirected himself" in the actions he took.
"I'm
going to court to compel the Minister to follow his statutory duty," Mr.
Williams said.
After
the revocation of the permit and certificate, the Bahamas Customs Department
ordered Mr. Williams to pay $650,000 in customs duty as the boats were no
longer duty free.
The
action by Mr. Williams would come only days after the government took the
matter to court, asking for an order of condemnation which would give the
government the freedom to dispose of the vessels in the manner it sees fit.
Minister
Gray told the Journal Thursday night that the government is seeking to
"confiscate" the vessels so that they can be sold to the public.
Mr.
Williams has said that in the worst-case scenario, he would find the $650,000
needed to clear the boats, 15 of which are impounded at Morgan's Bluff,
Andros. The larger vessel, known as the
mother ship, remains docked off Grand Bahama.
But
he indicated Thursday that push has not yet come to shove.
Mr.
Williams said that his fishing operation would be "a super golden
opportunity for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries under the new regime
of the Progressive Liberal Party government to show its ability to think
outside the box and to live up to the fundamentals of economic empowerment for
a forgotten people."
He
also said that, "The special interests and other peculiar proclivities
have kidnapped the Minister's attention and paralysed the Cabinet and
personalities are being given centre stage when the role of the government is
to lift up the people."
But
Minister Gray said he acted within the law when he revoked the permit and
certificate.
"I
stand by the position we took," he told the Journal. "Fishing in The Bahamas is reserved for
Bahamians and [Mr. Williams and his group] could not prove that [they fully
owned the vessels.]"
Minister
Gray said that there were several infractions of the law as it relates to the
proposed fishing venture.
He
said Central Bank approval was never granted for the purchase of the vessels.
The
Minister said that Mr. Williams was "going in the wrong direction" in
taking the matter to court.
But he added that, "They have a right to
file. The courts are available for everybody."