Antigua PM andTexan tycoon at war..Western democracy at work

[Dr.Dudd]

Antigua PM, Texan tycoon in open verbal war

By RICKEY SINGH Observer Caribbean correspondent
Tuesday, February 27, 2007



BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - An open, bitter row has erupted between Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer and Texan financial tycoon Allen Stanford that could hold serious political and economic consequences for that Leeward Island state.


Spencer. says Stanford has grown increasingly arrogant and obnoxious
The simmering feud that led to media leaks and rumours from within the ranks of Spencer's ruling United Progressive Party (UPP) and the Opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) of ex-prime minister Lester Bird, reached explosion point last week when Stanford, on a tour of Spencer's St John's Rural West constituency, made disparaging remarks about the prime minister.

According to media reports, Stanford, during the tour, expressed deep disappointment with what he viewed as the state of neglect of the constituency and pledged to launch socio-economic programmes for that and other constituencies within the framework of a US$2.7 billion fund that had earlier been discussed with the Government.

The comment angered Spencer, who claimed that ever since Stanford was honoured with a local knighthood last year by the Government, he had grown increasingly arrogant and obnoxious, and was now "strutting around the countryside" causing public concern with his "utterances".

This proved too much for the Texan billionaire, who has contributed heavily to both the governing and opposition parties. Consequently, last weekend, the local media reported that Stanford angrily accused Spencer of engaging in "outright lies" by claiming that though the Government had done its best to work with him, the administration had "experienced nothing but threats, innuendoes, and now, downright political interference in our national affairs from Allen Stanford for our efforts..."

Expressing "shock and dismay", Stanford, whose image across Caricom became more fixed with his US$28-million 20/20 cricket tournament, blasted Spencer for what he described as a "personal and un-statesmanlike" attack.
Both men were once close allies, and following his election victory in March 2004, Spencer robustly defended Stanford and his high-profile role in the financial and economic sectors of Antigua and Barbuda.


Stanford. blasted Spencer for what he described as a 'personal and un-statesmanlike' attack
Stanford has investments in Antigua and Barbuda of well over US$250 million and is a significant employer of labour.
The specific reason for the breakdown in their relationship is quite clear. However, according to Government and UPP insiders, including two Cabinet ministers, Stanford has been extending his influence among party and Government officials, much to the "dismay" of the prime minister.

Spencer, the Government insiders said, figured he had had "more than enough" of the Texan tycoon whom he accused of going into his constituency to openly "bad mouth him".
The dispute coincides with increasing reports of serious disaffection within Spencer's party.

Stanford is reported to have said he was "appalled and sickened to the core of my soul" to learn of Spencer's "attempt to paint a picture of myself as a new colonial master and that all of those in the Stanford organisation were subservient to me..."



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[evanovitch]

No more land for Stanford:PM rejects his apology

No more land for Stanford

Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has rejected an apology offered by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford over recent comments Stanford made about the country's leader.

"I ... totally reject that cunning attempt at an apology," Spencer told the nation in an address Friday night.

At the same time, he indicated that the special alliance between the government and the businessman had been broken and that the Stanford group would not be able to acquire any more government land for development.

"Like all other investors, local and foreign, Mr. Stanford's investment programmes will be facilitated under our broad investor alliance to be facilitated under the newly established Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority, which gets its powers from the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda.

"Such facilitation of Mr. Stanford's investment agenda will be guided by government's policy decision that any of his investment projects involving further acquisition of lands owned by the state will be denied," the Prime Minister said.

Spencer was responding to Stanford's open letter to him, published in the form of an adver-tisement earlier this week.

In the letter, the Texan businessman said: "My only desire is to see Antigua and Barbuda be developed to its fullest potential. I recognise the need for cooperation to attain that goal and, in that spirit, apologise to those who may have deemed my actions offensive."

Stanford was apologising for his stinging rebuke of the Prime Minister after Spencer suggested he was meddling in the country's local politics by his criticism of the state of some of the country's communities.

But Spencer was not won over by the apology, saying he found no remorse or expression of sorrow or regret in the open letter.

"Apart from the heading where my name was included, I find nothing in that letter that speaks to the office of the Prime Minister, which he grossly disrespected," Spencer said.

Transparency

He continued: "I have to report to you that in the early hours of Tuesday morning, I received a telephone call from Mr. Stanford during which he outlined that his actions over the last two weeks were motivated by bad advice he had received from both sides of the political divide.

"My response to Mr. Stanford was that his words were all well and good, but that he had to put his case before the people of Antigua and Barbuda. I was very much surprised on Thursday morning to read in the papers an open letter to the Hon. Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer ..."

Spencer told the nation that the government is committed to working with legitimate investors but that transparency, accountability and good governance would be its watchwords.

[RichD]

Re: No more land for Stanford:PM rejects his apology

i was lookign at the Antigua sun to see if i could find his letter.....i never relized how wide spread his influence was in that island.