Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler wants to know why usually outspoken critics are silent and not demanding answers from the leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Mia Mottley about her relationship with Nigerian billionaire Benedict Peters.
In addition, Sinckler, speaking at a Democratic Labour Party meeting at Eden Lodge, St Michael wants to know why Mottley has yet to tell Barbadians of the said relationship and her meeting with the businessman at the Hilton Barbados resort.
Sinckler again called on Mottley to respond to claims that her father, Elliott Mottley, was granted a near half million dollar tax waiver.
On Sunday night at a meeting in Carlisle Bay, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart revealed such took place under the last Owen Arthur-led BLP administration but was not authorised by Arthur.
And during a hastily called press conference on Monday, former Prime Minister Arthur, who was the then Minister of Finance, sought to distance himself from the debacle by disclosing that the senior Mottley indeed applied to him for the waiver but he rejected the request, which he later learned was granted.
“Open your eyes Barbadians, Mia Mottley needs to answer questions. Miss Mottley needs to answer the questions . . .,” Sinckler said.
Calling out the hypocrisy of critics of the DLP, he urged them to address this matter with haste.
He said: “. . . All of the people who were talking all of the junk about integrity, none of them is calling [her] into account,” Sinckler told those gathered tonight.
“I want to hear Charles Herbert, I want to hear David Ellis, I want to hear all of them. I want to hear Toni Moore and Akanni McDowall….”
In the meantime, the St Michael North West incumbent also urged Arthur to speak publicly about the so-called “tale of two polls” and what reportedly took place at a meeting to “create” the poll in 2013.
“Would you believe they got people who would manipulate polls to influence public opinion?” he asked.
“These are serious issues. Democracy as we know it in Barbados is under threat,” Sinckler added. (SDB Media)
