NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said last night the Bahamian people were right to vote out the Free National Movement (FNM), noting the suffering the Bahamian people endured, the country’s mismanaged finances and the former administration’s unfettered breaking of the rules was all evidence of a government that chose to “operate in darkness” and was “aggressively incompetent”.
Davis said millions were spent questionably, unqualified people were awarded substantial contracts with poor or non-existent recordkeeping; and structures were set up “outside the public service” with no level of reporting.
He said despite his questions about the food assistance program and how the $53 million was spent by the task force appointed to oversee the program, “they have not sought to answer anything”.
He again underscored the reported $4.7 million spent on administration fees, asking “what happened”.
“Given that the previous administration refused to give any credible account of their spending during the past few years, the statement takes on greater import and urgency Mr Deputy-Speaker,” Davis said as he wrapped up the mid-year budget debate in Parliament.
“The mid-year budget statement is not merely a courtesy.
“The Bahamian people have a fundamental and legal right to know how their money has been spent.
“They have a right to know what the government has said and done in their name.
“And they have a right to know how far those actions are in line with what the government has promised.”
The prime minister said it was “profoundly regrettable” that opposition members had few responses to the many questions that were raised in his mid-year budget communication during the debate.
“They have uttered barely a word in defense of the many, many questionable practices, which were undertaken by their administration, including and especially those of the member for Killarney, who acted as the sole competent authority since March 2020, cheered on with the full support of his team…,” Davis said.
He said the abuse of the emergency orders was the “original sin”, noting that under those orders, the government was required to submit a report detailing expenditures, but there was no compliance with those rules — a point the former prime minister has rejected.
But Davis claimed the Minnis administration spent the Bahamian people’s money outside the procurement process, enabled by the emergency orders, and picked favorites, “throwing millions around without having to detail or debate or defend his decisions”.
He questioned why the former administration chose to “operate in darkness”.
“What were they so ashamed of,” Davis asked.
“If they were doing so well by the Bahamian people, why were they not proud to proclaim it.
“They seemingly spent many hours devising regulations governing the minutiae of the lives of the Bahamian people.
“Their aggressive incompetence, which often resulted in chaos and confusion, made the experience of the pandemic much worse than it had to have been.
The prime minister also touched on the travel health visa program under the former administration, which he referred to as a scheme, and the alleged “slush fund” that was being operated out of the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority.
He juxtaposed the Minnis administration four and a half year record in comparison to his roughly six months in office, insisting his administration has achieved much for the Bahamian people, ranging from a reduction in value-added tax to free coronavirus testing, as well as significant infrastructure projects and investments in the pipeline for the country.
