A delegation from the Progressive Labour Party is taking its concerns about the One Bermuda Alliance to the British Government, according to a party statement.

Leader of Opposition Marc Bean, Shadow Attorney-General Michael Scott, Walton Brown, the Shadow Minister for Immigration and External Affairs, and Shadow Minister of Tourism Zane DeSilva are set to meet tomorrow with representatives from both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Commonwealth Parliament Association.

Chief among the delegation’s concerns are the OBA’s plan for the redevelopment of the LF Wade International Airport, allegations of systematic government corruption and Parliament being “in disrepute”.

The statement continues: “The OBA government refuses to yield on this matter, and in support of our fellow Bermudians, we must stand up to ensure the best deal possible for our island in redeveloping our airport.

“The PLP is requesting a Swiss challenge at a minimum. A Swiss challenge is a form of public procurement which requires a public authority, which has received an unsolicited bid for a public project or services to be provided to government, to publish the bid and invite third parties to match or exceed it. This would allow any other contractors that are capable of redeveloping the airport to have an opportunity to place a bid on said project.

“At a maximum, the PLP would like the UK to instruct the OBA government to cancel the memorandum of understanding with CCC/Aecon and begin the process over, beginning with a request for proposal (RFP).

“It is the view of the PLP that a competitive tender process is the only way to ensure that Bermuda gets the best deal for the privatisation of the airport, which in its current form, will give the Canadian company Aecon the rights to over $1 billion of revenue.

“During the debate in Parliament, not one member of the OBA was able to assure Bermuda that we are getting the best deal and that is because with a sole source contract Aecon does not need to compete against any other company with regards to price.

“The Good Governance Act requires that the Office of Project Management and Procurement approve the award of all contracts. The Office of Project Management and Procurement has not approved of this deal, however Finance Minister Bob Richards and the OBA are moving this deal forward without the approval of the very department that is there to ensure that proper tendering processes are adhered to.

“These processes are in place to ensure that public funds are handled properly and Minister Richards’s declaration that they would continue to move forward despite the lack of approval from this important department should alarm all persons and companies that pay taxes.

“The recent release of e-mails, and the admission by the Minister of Finance that he was aware that Aecon was the contractor from the very beginning of this process, calls into question this entire deal.

“Despite these revelations and the concerns voiced by the opposition, community groups, independent commentators and 75 per cent of voters — Premier Michael Dunkley, Minister Richards and the remainder of their OBA colleagues refuse to rethink this sole-sourced deal to the Canadian company AECON.

“There is the hope that when presented with these facts that the UK will intervene and put a stop to this reckless behaviour from the Dunkley/Richards administration.”