(REAL News) — Osmond Lake, a manager with Sunrise Airways (Dominica) Ltd., has put out a statement concerning an alleged incident between Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Euletta Francis, the former chief executive officer of the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority (ABAA).
While his version of events appears to support Browne’s claim of a civil conversation between the two, a United Progressive Party (UPP) officer is wondering “what really turns on this statement.”
Francis, who tendered her resignation from ABAA on Monday, November 13, after coming under attack from Browne last Saturday, said Browne berated her in the presence of Lake, who later called her to apologize.
Lake says that in the meeting with Browne on November 9, he presented an overview of his business plans. In the course of the discussion, he claims the prime minister telephoned Francis, “and in a very businesslike manner queried the reasons for the delays.”
These “delays” are a reference to Francis’ decision to put off meeting with Lake for two weeks, since she reportedly was working on another project – specifically, the closing a US$100 million loan to the Government via the Airport Authority.
Lake alleges that Browne “accepted the point that the … application could not be more immediately addressed and the conversation ended cordially.”
Following that discourse, Lake adds, he called Francis to reassure her that his meeting with the prime minister was not intended to undermine her position; but, rather, to brief him on the introduction of an airline into the region.
He says the former CEO was very enthusiastic about this proposal, since it fell within the scope of the development plan for the airport.
A source says there was no need for Lake to put out any statement on the rift between Browne and Francis, and it sounds like the press release was orchestrated to make Browne’s version seem more
credible.
Meanwhile, the UPP officer says the statement appears to be more of a “gimmick to promote Lake’s airline and convince the public that Francis was obstructing a good business opportunity.”
Lake was Browne’s business partner in the Ebenezer housing project, the official says and, therefore, he would want to pressure Francis to “hop to it and help him to get his project going,” the officer claims.
Аdvеrtіѕе wіth thе most visited news site in Antigua and Barbuda ~ Wе оffеr fullу сuѕtоmіzаblе аnd flехіblе dіgіtаl mаrkеtіng расkаgеѕ. Yоur соntеnt іѕ dеlіvеrеd іnѕtаntlу tо thоuѕаndѕ оf uѕеrѕ іn Antigua аnd аbrоаd via our One Signal push notifications! Соntасt uѕ аt [email protected].
———————————————————————
Make a donation to help support ABN, via PayPal: [email protected]. Follow Antigua Breaking News on X, formerly Twitter @ABNAntigua, and Instgram @AntiguaBreakingNews and on Facebook. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-268-779-3189 or email us at [email protected].
Click Here to Get the News Delivered Directly to You.
Аdvеrtіѕе wіth thе most visited news site in Antigua and Barbuda ~ Wе оffеr fullу сuѕtоmіzаblе аnd flехіblе dіgіtаl mаrkеtіng расkаgеѕ. Yоur соntеnt іѕ dеlіvеrеd іnѕtаntlу tо thоuѕаndѕ оf uѕеrѕ іn Antigua аnd аbrоаd via our One Signal push notifications! Соntасt uѕ аt [email protected].
———————————————————————
Make a donation to help support ABN, via PayPal: [email protected]. Follow Antigua Breaking News on X, formerly Twitter @ABNAntigua, and Instgram @AntiguaBreakingNews and on Facebook. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-268-779-3189 or email us at [email protected].