Opposition calls on MOT to apologize for “inappropriate video”

(CMR) The Opposition People's Progressive Party has called on Minister of Tourism and Transport Kenneth Bryan to apologize for publicly endorsing his wife's real estate business and encouraging constituents to support her business.

In a video on social media, Mr. Bryan joins his wife in distributing flyers in Tropicana Cresent and encourages people to give his wife a call.

“Let me be clear, this is a business from which Minister Bryan personally benefits. It is his wife's business. I try not to involve family members in matters of politics, but the  Minister has regrettably and wrongly created the video himself. And it is my duty to address it,” Opposition leader Roy McTaggart stated.

“In all my years, I have never seen such a deliberate and flagrant breach of the principles of good governance by a government minister,” he added.

The leader of the Progressives said as a Member of Parliament and Cabinet, Mr. Bryan swore to put the country's interest before his own. He said the Minister had breached the Ministerial Code of conduct which states that no minister should endorse, in any media, products or services, except public service announcements or political party advertisements.

Mr. McTaggart added that it is not appropriate for a minister to explicitly promote an organization or its services or products.

“The Minister should therefore know that he should not use his position to benefit a family member or himself financially. Second, Minister Bryan may have constituents in a similar line of business and his endorsement could unfairly impact their business. Third, Minister Bryan has signaled his preferred real estate agent to businesses and individuals. This is a serious conflict of interest,” Mr. McTaggard said.

Mr. McTaggart called on Mr. Bryan to immediately remove the video and said both the Minister and Premier Wayne Panton should apologize for the video. The Opposition leader said there have been several questionable actions by Ministers and called on Premier Panton to address these actions.

CMR has reached out to both the Minister and the Premier for comments; however, none were received at the time of publishing this story. Join Sandra Hill on The Cold Hard Truth on Tuesday, 12 July, at this link as she discusses this issue.