Bermuda’s Royal Gazette reports that Tourism Minister Leah Scott is calling on MP Jamahl Simmons to explain his motivation for repeated attempts to oust Alan Dunch as chairman of the Bermuda Gaming Commission.
After the Gazette revealed emails and letters indicating Simmons has tried to oust Dunch from the commission at least three times, Scott released a statement asking for the lawmaker’s motives. Simmons had previously questions the gaming board’s actions involving a controversial bid for a government contract to install a cashless gaming system for the island’s coming casinos.
The contract was given to MM&I, in partnership with Banyan Gaming, and the memorandum of understanding on the deal was subsequently terminated following a warning from the Gaming Commission that people associated with Banyan had surrendered their gaming licenses in U.S. jurisdictions, according to the report in the Gazette.
In her statement, Scott defended the termination of the contract, asking of Simmons, “What is the minister’s real motivation for wanting to remove the current chairman? If this government is truly for Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda and putting Bermudians first, I would have thought that the position taken by the chairman would have been lauded, and not chastised.”
Scott also defended Dunch, noting in her statement that there is no reason under the Casino Gaming act to disqualify the current chairman—which the law states only can be done as a result of inability to manage their affairs, for bankruptcy reasons, or due to conviction of an offense involving dishonesty.
“To the best of my knowledge, information and belief, the chairman is not incapable of managing himself or his affairs, he is not an undischarged bankrupt, nor has he been convicted of an offense involving dishonesty, fraud or moral turpitude,” Scott said in the statement. “So I humbly request that the minister inform the Bermuda public of the real reasons he is requesting the chairman’s resignation.”
For his part, Dunch, whose term expires in 2019, said he has no intention of resigning, and, like Scott, added that there is no statutory basis for his removal.
