Bean blasts OBA for criticism of White’s Island lease

Make text smaller Make text larger

Leroy Bean, the ruling party candidate for St George’s South, has hit back at criticism from the Opposition over his rent-free lease for White’s Island.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Progressive Labour Party, Mr Bean accused the One Bermuda Alliance of trying to shut down a programme which helps young Bermudians.

But Shadow Attorney General Trevor Moniz responded by saying his party is calling for an end to insider dealing not Mr Bean’s anti-gang programme.

Mr Bean denounced what he described as the vilification of a programme that has “touched the lives of hundreds of young people”.

He said his anti-gang organisation CARTEL is not using White’s Island for profit but “to help hundreds of troubled Bermudian young people.”

“I invite you to talk to some of the young people that have participated in our programme. We're working with young people who show antisocial behaviour and working to mediate conflicts between them before they erupt in violence,” he said.

“We're also working with Bermudians who may already be engaged in some of our antisocial problems here in Bermuda and working with these young people to put them on the right path. We educate. We mediate. And, we relocate to take them out of troubled environments.”

He said that CARTEL, which stands for Challenging and Reclaiming the True Essence of Life, had given the young people self esteem and “set them on the right course in society.”

Mr Bean was responding to Shadow Attorney General Trevor Moniz who said the process used to grant CARTEL a 21 years less a day rent-free lease for White’s Island was corrupt because it was not put out to tender.

“Would the OBA kick these young people to the curb? Would they say that we can’t have that space because they want to use it to help their rich friends? It’s shocking to me that a charitable programme that has touched the lives of hundreds of young people is being vilified,” Mr Bean said.

He continued: “The OBA is quick to attack the crime issue. But, when there are organisations like CARTEL working with our young people to do something about it, what does the OBA do? Do they make a charitable contribution to our work? No. Do they volunteer with our programmes? No.

“Instead, they try to take away our gathering place where we work with these young people. I’ve had enough. Their assault is an assault on all of the children whose lives that we are touching. We are standing strong for these Bermudian children and the OBA is working to shut down a programme that helps them. I won’t stand for it and neither should you.”

In a statement issued by the OBA last night, Mr Moniz called for Mr Bean’s lease to be provided to the public.

“Put the lease on the table for all to see along with any agreement that was signed to ensure that Bermuda’s youth are indeed supplied with first quality services,” he said. “Let’s bring an end to this reign of secrecy with the public’s money and assets.”

“Secret insider deals” are not the best way to find the best solutions for Bermuda’s youth, Mr Moniz added.

And he denied that his criticism was meant as an attack on CARTEL.

“My comments focused on the system that uses secrecy to favour insiders, similar to what happened when the same people abused the Bermuda Land Development Company — a situation the Auditor General described as a ‘misuse of public funds.’”

Mr Moniz added: “The OBA will provide an open and transparent process in the sunshine of public scrutiny to provide the very best services for Bermuda’s at-risk youth.

“We will ensure Bermuda is served by a system that is open, fair, transparent and accountable. That’s what we will do.”

Premier Paula Cox has said that, going forward, all leases will be subject to Cabinet approval, and reiterated her administration’s commitment to transparency.

But the Estates Ministry declined to provide a list of all charities and organisations with leases for the islands under Government control, saying they are private contracts and therefore confidential.

Mr Bean has told The Royal Gazette that CARTEL uses the island for a Youth Empowerment Camp. Last year the camp had a range of 47 to 63 seven- to 16-year-olds attending. But this year the numbers fell by more than half, he said, because they were sharing facilities with the Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association.

The camp’s duration has also been cut from 11 weeks last year to six this summer.

Mr Bean’s candidate biography boasts “extensive experience in counselling and residential treatment programmes”, two Master’s degrees (one in Christian Counselling, the other in Government Law and Public Policy) and work as a “Residential Care Officer, a Nouthetic Counsellor, and as an Addiction Counsellor for various organisations in Bermuda”.

His bio also states that he was involved in the very first gang negotiations sponsored by the Police department in 2003.

He recently returned from an anti-gang conference in Chicago hosted by the National Gang Crime Research Center where, he said, he received a certificate of appreciation.

Make text smaller Make text larger

Take Our Poll