An Open Letter to Former Attorney General, Mr. Bernard Wiltshire

Dear Mr. Wiltshire,

I listened – but not with incredulity as little surprises me these days – as you spoke about the Government’s use of money and stated the following on a call with Matt Peltier on Q95 on Thursday October 22, 2020:

So your point is Mr. Wiltshire, your point is that there are many other ways to make the money.

Matt Peltier

Q95 Talk Show Host

Ofcourse there are many other ways of making the money. And if he [Prime Minister Skerrit] was using that money I would not mind to actually put… take that money he is using and invest that in enterprises among the people. But what do you think he is doing? He is making his friends rich. He gave I think Mr. Nassief, which one, for Fort Young, something like 21 million dollars I understand. To do what? To destroy our national monument and put a whole silo of… concrete silo in the middle of Fort Young. To make money for whom? For the Nassiefs. You understand?.

Bernard Wiltshire

Former Attorney General

For the record, as Chairman of the Fort Young since 2013, I can assure you that the hotel has not received $1 from the Government of Dominica to assist the business in any way. Zero loans, zero grants, zero equity.

While all hotels have been knocked down by the pandemic, Fort Young was in a far worse position as we were caught in the middle of a major expansion and renovation with significant levels of bank debt. At a time when our shareholders were feeling the financial bite of this crisis, they came to our rescue to infuse equity in order to reduce debt so we could survive this crisis. But according to you, our shareholders did not put their hard-earned money into the business, they instead accepted $21 million dollars of “get rich” money from the Government.

How can you as a former Attorney General utter such an absurd, blatant and malicious lie? I believe you owe the shareholders of the Fort Young an apology – all 35 of us – including the Baron’s, the Bellot’s, the Charle’s, the Issa’s, the Mc Inntyre’s, the Michael’s, the Munro’s, the Nassief’s, the Reid’s, the Rodriguez’s and the Rolle’s – for your disgraceful statements.

And on the matter of destroying our national monument, once you have made a public apology to our shareholders, I will gladly offer you – and Matt, if he so wishes – a personal tour of the “Fort” and of the “concrete silos” you speak of, and show you the effort made and money spent to ensure that the historic fabric of the pre-Maria Fort remains in full tact. And after that tour, a second apology will surely be in order.

I suggest in the future you step out of your silo brimming with misinformation, exaggerations, innuendo and irresponsible assumptions, and instead of calling a radio station and talking nonsense, you call me, or whomever you are about to lie about, and seek truth. Then call the radio station and speak a bit of informed sense.

Regarding the first apology, time is of essence.

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