THE CHAIRMAN OF THE AIRPORT AUTHORITY TO RESIGN?

The reports are circulating that J M Pinder, the former Member of Parliament, who is now the Chair of the Airport Authority that owns all the airports in The Bahamas is to resign.  It is said that things came to ahead following a meeting in the Prime Minister’s office when he made certain complaints about the activities of various consultants to the Authority who were exerting in his view undue influence over the process of contracting vendors for the Authority.  Mr. Pinder became suspicious when suddenly the normal pricing process seemed to be interrupted by an invisible hand asking for new bids and prices. One on fencing for the airport in Cat Island went in one instance from 40 thousand dollars to 200 thousand dollars.  The estimate for the Euxma airport went from 25 million to 65 million dollars.  There seemed to be no explanation for it, save that an invisible hand had intervened.  The meeting was called to iron the difficulties but the Prime Minister’s response was to see it only as a personal clash of wills between specially paid advisors and Mr. Pinder. The complaints were dismissed and the parties were urged to get along.  Mr. Pinder does not see it as a personal clash of wills but one of integrity and figured before the proverbial do do hits the fan he had better bail. This week is to be his last meeting and this will leave Milo Butler III in a fix because he as the Managing Director has counted on Mr. Pinder to keep things on the straight and narrow.