CONTRACTOR GENERAL Greg Christie's assertion that Dr Omar Davies had "illegally and improperly" intervened in the sale of Air Jamaica's Heathrow Airport slots to Virgin Atlantic will not force the former finance minister to leave representational politics.

"The last time around we (Davies and his constituents) consulted, they figured that there were many more years; many more rivers to cross," Davies said at a press conference Monday.

Davies is the member of parliament for South St Andrew and was finance minister for 14 years. He was thought to be in the political exit lounge, especially after the People's National Party (PNP) defeat in the 2007 general election.

Christie's report, which was tabled in the House of Representatives yesterday, examined the role of Davies in the sale of Air Jamaica to Virgin Atlantic and concluded that he did not act above board.

Grim market conditions

On Monday, Davies said that even with the benefit of hindsight, he would not have acted differently regarding his role in the sale of the slots.

"I did what was correct in the nation's interest," Davies said.

The Heathrow slots were sold to Virgin Atlantic for £5.1 million (US$10.2 million). The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which was then the Opposition, said the country could have earned far more for the slots but Davies has maintained that given the conditions under which Air Jamaica was operating, the sale was essential and prudent, especially with the airline facing grim market conditions.

"There was no way we could retain that route, which was a major contri-butor ... . Any legal proposal which would seek to reduce the amount to be absorbed by the Government of Jamaica, and hence the taxpayers, cannot be improper," Davies said.

He added: "There was a real urgency of concluding the deal. Apart from the need to eliminate the loss of over US$500,000 per week, a brief window of opportunity had presented itself to dispose of the two wide-bodied aircraft that the airline had leased specifically for use on the London route.

Davies rejected the claim that the board came under undue pressure to effect the sale because of his role.

"I put no pressure of any kind on the board. In fact, in order not to collar the board's consideration of the matter, the chairman refrained from informing the directors of my commitment, in principle, to Virgin, and he allowed the board to fully deli-berate the issue before mentioning to the meeting that I was in favour of Virgin's bid," Davies said.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com