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Last Updated: Jun 21, 2017 - 5:40:55 PM |
Prime Minister, Dr. the Hon. Hubert Minnis in the House of Assembly during his Budget Debate Contribution, June 20, 2017. (Photo/OPM Media Services)
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Nassau, The Bahamas - Prime Minister, Dr. the Hon. Hubert Minnis, in his contribution to the Budget Debate, June 20, in the House of Assembly accused the former Progressive Liberal Party Administration of using Hurricane Matthew “as a way of channeling money to certain people.”
“Hurricane Matthew was a massive storm. It left destruction and devastation [across a number of islands]. It is absolutely unacceptable for public funds to be channeled to a select few in the aftermath of the Hurricane,” Prime Minister Minnis told House Members.
The Prime Minister said, for example, a total of $28,975,187 was expended on Hurricane Clean-up. $22,939,178 was spent to clean up New Providence, while $5,881,649 was spent on clean-up efforts in Grand Bahama and another $154,360 on clean-up efforts in North Andros.
Prime Minister Minnis said a number of individuals were engaged in the clean up exercise following the passage of Matthew.
“Upon my review of payments made to various vendors, I was astonished by one particular vendor which stood out. There are many questionable payments, but the payments the vendor are shocking.”
Prime Minister Minnis said the one vendor received 46 payment transactions totaling $7,056,348.24. The request for payment was submitted through the Ministry of Works and the National Recovery and Reconstruction Unit. In addition, he said, contracts for cleaning and sorting debris at three dumpsites totaled $1,057,560 for a grand total of $8,113,908.24.
“We have quite a bit of information, much of which is quite shocking,” Prime Minister Minnis said. “We will pass this and other information to the Office of the Auditor General.
“Can you imagine what over eight million, one hundred and thirteen thousand dollars can do for this country? When one examines this, one can imagine the families that could have been hired; the homes that could have been constructed; the school repairs that could have been completed; the scholarships that could have been awarded,” Prime Minister Minnis added.
© Copyright 2017 by thebahamasweekly.com
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