ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC—Prime Minister Gaston Browne is defending the decision that led to the resignation of the Customs Comptroller, Raju Boddu, earlier this month. Boddu is reported to have submitted his resignation last week in a move that took many by surprise.
In his letter, Boddu reportedly cited health concerns as the primary reason for stepping down. Boddu, an experienced customs administrator, had earned a reputation for his strict enforcement of customs regulations and efforts to modernize the division.
Browne first publicly announced Boddu’s resignation during the parliamentary session last Thursday. Speaking on his radio program over the weekend, he said the decision stemmed from a serious breach of confidence over alleged irregularities in the processing of duty-free concessions.
The prime minister told radio listeners that he had personally confronted Boddu after receiving reports of questionable authorisations on vehicle purchases.
“He denied any wrongdoing. In fact, he sent me a message saying he was poor, didn’t even own a home, and asked if I was accusing him of anything,” Browne said.
“But I had documents people sent me that bore his signature. When I raised that, he said if he signed anything, it must have been an oversight. I told him it seemed to me to be wilful neglect.”
Browne said that he made it clear to Boddu that he no longer had confidence in his ability to continue in the role, insisting nonetheless was not forced.
“I told him straight, I’m not asking you to resign. But if you recognise that there was wilful neglect, then you know what to do,” Browne said.
Media reports said that Bodu was in India when the situation escalated, which subsequently led to his resignation.
“What I can’t understand, is how so many warrants could have been missed or validated when they clearly shouldn’t have been. That’s a massive oversight,” Prime Minister Browne said, referring also to rumours circulating in the public domain, suggesting that some car dealerships were allegedly offering unauthorised tax waivers in exchange for cash.
“People tell me they go to buy a new car, and when I approve a 25 per cent duty reduction, they’re told there’s no such thing, (and) that for EC$10,00 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents), you can get everything off,” Browne said, adding “that’s what has been reported to me”.
He said that Boddu continues to maintain his innocence adding “I take some responsibility. Maybe I trusted him too much. He fooled me to some extent. Assuming he’s guilty, and he insists he isn’t, it still means that trust has been broken.”
The Prime Minister noted that Boddu, who earned approximately US$10,000 per month and whose housing is paid by the government, had been recruited under the previous United Progressive Party (UPP) administration.
“There was an assumption that he was operating with probity, but that oversight in quotation marks shattered the confidence we had in him,” Prime Minister Browne said, reiterating that the breakdown in trust made it impossible for Boddu to continue leading the Customs Department.
“I told him, how do you expect me to trust you when so many of those warrants were validated?” the Prime Minister said. “That’s why he resigned. He recognized that the trust had come to an end.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Browne is vowing to uphold public trust and ensure complete transparency in the unfolding controversy over government vehicle purchases, insisting that neither he nor any Cabinet minister is implicated in the matter.
“Some believe I should just sweep this under the table…But to do that would be to violate the trust the people of Antigua and Barbuda have placed in me,” Browne said.
He said the duty-free vehicle policy, which, in part, assists lower-income citizens in purchasing affordable used cars, was never intended to enrich car dealers and that past generosity from some ministers had led to excessive waivers of government taxes.
He said as a corrective measure, the prime minister said he had centralised all authority to approve duty free concessions within the MInistry of Finance.
“For the last two years, only the Minister of Finance that’s me has the authority to sign duty-free exemptions,” he said, adding “no one else can waive taxes or duties.”
and then 