Nice Radio to raise $70,000 more to pay off PM

A radiothon should have been held last night, to raise the additional funds needed by Nice Radio to pay Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves the money awarded him by the court.{{more}}

At a press conference on Wednesday, lawyer Kay Bacchus-Browne told reporters that the full $140,000 needed for BDS Ltd, operators of Nice Radio, to pay a judgement debt to Gonsalves, had been raised.

According to fund-raiser Junior Bacchus, the Save Nice Radio account at RBTT, as at February 13, stood at $140,858.30.

However, Bacchus-Browne and Bacchus are looking to raise a further $70,000 to pay interest and costs in the matter.

“We are appealing to the public again that we need to raise another $60 to $70,000. If we don’t raise that money, all that we have done in the past would be in vain.

“Let us pay off the Prime Minister his full debt, his interest and pay his lawyer, Grahame Bollers, his full cost and save Nice Radio,” Bacchus-Browne pleaded.

High Court Master V. Georgis Taylor-Alexander had ordered last month that lawyers for BDS Ltd deliver the sum of $138,000 by 10 a.m. Thursday, January 31, 2013 to the prime minister’s lawyer, Grahame Bollers.

However, Bacchus-Browne, who helped launch the appeal to “Save Nice Radio” in October 2012, indicated in a media conference on Wednesday that she did not “see or know” of any court order until she received a draft copy of the order on February 7.

Bacchus-Browne said the order states: “The second defendant (BDS Limited) is to pay to the claimant no later than 10 a.m. on the 31st January, 2013, the sum of $138,000, monies it alleges it possess and it stands ready to pay to the claimant.

The order further states that “A copy of the manager’s cheque evidencing such payment is to be lodged with the court on 31st of January, 2013 failing which the court will consider any sanction on application of the claimant as the CPR allows”.

Bacchus-Browne said the order was not brought to her attention until the date for payment of the money had passed.

“I don’t know how this order came about. At no time did BDS say that it has $138,000 in its possession. At all times it was absolutely clear that this money was in a bank account at the RBTT…,” she added.

“The Prime Minister’s debt will be completely satisfied. I do not know of any other case that where a judgement debt is able to be paid in full and a receiver manager is still appointed to collect lawyers fee, cost and interest…”

The legal team of BDS Ltd have already filed an appeal of High Court Master V. Georgis Taylor-Alexander’s decision to appoint Peter Alexander as one of the two receiver managers for BDS Ltd.

Bacchus-Browne thanked the public for their generous donations in helping to save Nice Radio.

Meanwhile, at the press conference on Wednesday, former minister under the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration Jeremiah Scott handed over US$520 to the “Save Nice Radio” fund. He said the money was raised by an organisation based in in the USA called St Vincent Progressive Organisation of New York (SPOONY). Scott, who serves as Spoony’s liaison officer, said it is the first of many donations to come from the organisation.

Owner of Nice Radio Douglas “Dougie” DeFreitas also thanked the public for their support and stated that while they are “not afraid of the challenges in court”, they also “want to be law-abiding citizens and deal with the issues as they come by law”.

In July 2011, Bds Ltd and talk show host Elwardo Lynch were ordered by the Court of Appeal to pay Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves damages of $140,000, plus $20,000 costs at the High Court, the cost in the Court of Appeal of $20,000 and five per cent interest from 2008, the date of assessment.

The money was ordered paid in relation to a defamation suit the prime minister won after Lynch made comments about the financing of a trip to Rome for some members of the prime mininster’s family.