Premier's campaign chairman at centre of fresh controversy
One business boss, who did not wish to be identified, said Mr. Curtis approached him last month requesting a meeting in his capacity as chairman of Faith-Based Tourism.
But when the meeting got under way, Mr. Curtis allegedly said he was looking for donations for his own company, set up to provide further cash to churches.
And it is claimed he also pointed out to the executive that he had close links with the Premier — and implied that political access could be facilitated through donations.
“We received several telephone calls from a woman saying that Andre Curtis wanted to meet with me,” the businessman said.
“She said that he was very worried about Bermuda’s youth and wanted to meet with me and talk about it.
“We didn’t return his calls at first but later arranged to meet him. He showed up about three weeks ago with another gentleman. It was the most awkward meeting I have ever had.
“The first thing he did was hand me his Department of Tourism card which showed that he was from Faith-Based Tourism.
“He began by telling me that he was very concerned about the youth of Bermuda. But he then started saying that he was the campaign chairman for Ewart Brown and that he had access to the Premier.
“In fact, he then mentioned that he had just come from another off-shore company which had expressed concerns about possible legislation putting a limit on the number of vehicles they would be allowed to have. He said he told them that he was going to speak to the Premier and make sure their needs were met.
“I’m familiar with the way that charities work and when he said that, the red flags started going up. But I was curious as to what he had to say so I let him continue.
“He said he was building a private, non-profit company, that he had ten church leaders who were to be the directors of that company and that he was raising money for those churches.
“That’s all very admirable but the problem with churches is that there are so many of them and, when it comes to raising money, a lot of them get left out.
“This is something that the Centre on Philanthropy has recognised, saying that it’s going to find a way of making sure that any money raised [by any organisation] goes to all the churches.
“The first question I asked Mr. Curtis was, since his non-profit organisation was not going to be a regulated charity, how would the funds get audited? He assured me that he would send out financial statements to anyone who made a donation and that everything would be above board.
“I then asked who we should give any money to and he said that his lawyers were in the process of creating a non-profit company.
“Again, because I’m familiar and have been involved with charities before, I asked how much of any donation would go directly to charity work and how much would go to the foundation — the organisation that raises the funds. Mr. Curtis said there would be a 20 per cent / 80 per cent split. That’s at the high end. I would say 10/90 is the normal, and with a charity that involves churches the overheads are usually lower as you have people giving their time free-of-charge.“I then asked which churches would get the monies, bearing in mind that his company would have only ten church leaders as directors, but he said that other churches would be eligible.
“The reason I’m concerned is that there was an insinuation — ‘if you give money you will have access to the Premier — I’m his campaign manager’.
“What he didn’t seem to understand is that there has to be a clear separation between Government and the private sector. Private companies should not be allowed to buy political influence but at the end of the day this was just blatant.”
The businessman said that, although Mr. Curtis did not discuss the Faith-Based Tourism programme, when he left, he handed over a brochure promoting the scheme.
The brochure claims that “on a monthly basis we invite influential visionaries from all over the world to give talks and facilitate discussions regarding topics such as crime, ethics and morality with 120 local spiritual leaders”. The brochure also points out that, for $400,000, contributors can become Executive Diamond sponsors.
And it also highlights Mr. Curtis’s links with the Premier, describing him as “a vigorous go-getter” who is “actively involved as Chairman of PLP Constituency 26, Campaign Chairman for Premier Dr. Honourable Ewart Brown”.
The businessman said he refused to make a donation for a number of reasons. “There was no apparent link between his role as a member of the Department of Tourism and his proposal — that we make a donation to his own company which would then pass it on to these churches,” he said.
“Charities in Bermuda are generally well controlled. They have to file reports which are in the public domain and there’s a degree of accountability, but until he organises it in a manner that is transparent and drops the whole strategy of associating himself with the Premier, I don’t think he will raise much money. I didn’t give him any money and I would assume that any major company that looked at the proposal would recognise that it’s nothing like the way the hundreds of other charities in Bermuda operate.”
The businessman said he understood a number of business associates had also been approached by Mr. Curtis with a similar proposition. None were willing to speak out, he claimed, for fear of retribution.
He also pointed out that, at the time of the meeting, Mr. Curtis said he had yet to set up his company but was later told that it had been incorporated under the name “Harmony”.
When contacted by the Mid-Ocean News yesterday morning, Mr. Curtis denied any knowledge of such a company, although he did say that he had a share in nine businesses.
Audibly flustered, Mr. Curtis said: “I don’t have anything to answer. I think you should go back to the person who told you this. I don’t have to deny or confirm anything.”
He then said that he was in a meeting and thahe Mid-Ocean News should call back later. He responded to a second call by saying: “This is the second time you have called me today — this is harassment.”
When asked to deny the claims, he again repeated that this newspaper needed to speak to the businessman rather than himself, although he did deny that he had recently formed a new company.
“I don’t know anything about a new company — I’m not setting up a new company. I don’t know what you want,” he said, before hanging up.
The Faith-Based Tourism programme made headlines this week after Opposition MP Wayne Furbert questioned how funding — the organisation has received $600,000 from Government since last year — was being allocated.
Yesterday, Mr. Furbert labelled certain claims in the programme’s brochure as “lies”.
And he also suggested that the initiative was set up by Dr. Brown as a reward for Mr. Curtis’ work as campaign chairman.
Dr. Brown said he would answer Mr. Furbert’s concerns when the House of Assemly reconvenes in November.
Premier’s campaign chairman is at centre of fresh controversy
