CAL board says it won't resign, insists it did nothing wrong

The Caribbean Airlines (CAL) board has said it will not resign and, in a media release, it has defended its actions.

The board and its line minister, Jack Warner, are at loggerheads over what Warner says is the board's disrespectful behaviour to him. He has called on the board to resign.

The matter that has caused the friction is the dismissal of Ian Brunton as CAL's Chief Executive Officer over allegations that the board is unhappy with a deal to buy 9 planes from the European aircraft manufacturer, ATR for US$200 million.

Brunton negotiated the deal and signed the agreement on the instructions of the minister after it was approved by Cabinet.

Last Thursday the cabinet held a lengthy meeting to discuss the matter following which Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissesssar asked the Attorney General to get a legal and aviation industry expert to advise on the matter especially since one issue that has been raised is the safety of the ATR planes.

The board said it wrote to Warner three times - November 12, 16 and 22 - and has not yet received a response from the minister.

It said the correspondence sought to clarify instructions from Warner on the ATR purchase, advised that it needed time to review the ATR transaction and asked permission to seek the advice of a global aviation expert as well as permission to engage a firm to assist in recruitment of a chief executive for the airline.

“The board maintains that it sent the minutes of all its meetings to the line minister and to the Investment Division of the Ministry of Finance through their permanent secretaries in accordance with protocol on November 30, 2010,” the release said.

“Delivery of the minutes was confirmed. It is regrettable that it was not brought to the attention of the minister until December 10, 2010. It is noteworthy that it is the first time in the history of the airline that the airline is reporting to its line minister,” the release added.

The board reiterated that it is not planning to cancel the ATR deal, but is merely trying to review it to satisfy itself that it is the best option in keeping with the operational requirements of the airline. “This it did in correspondence to its line minister on November 22, 2010,” it said.

“The board did not and does not share the view that asking for time to review and consider a decision made prior to its appointment, which could have a profound impact on the airline during its tenure, or asking for the permission of its line minister to seek the advice of a global expert on the matter, was improper."

It said the airline has not, nor will it embark on any such acquisition without due diligence and the approval of the board, in consultation with the line minister and the approval of its shareholder through Cabinet.

“Any suggestion that this board has acted in a contrary manner cannot be substantiated,” it said.