The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

GIFT certificates worth more than $200,000, currently being given to Abaco residents in the names of PLP election candidates and officials as ‘Hurricane Dorian relief payments,’ were paid for by the Ministry of Finance, according to Chris Lleida, chief executive officer of Premier Importers, the company that issued them.

His claim was strongly rejected yesterday by Valentine Grimes, a PLP trustee, who said he was not familiar with the case but insisted the party would never use public funds in this way.

“Anything that candidates give out to people, anything, is paid out by the party or the candidate,” he said.

Mr Lleida claimed the vouchers to his company for people in Abaco were issued at the request of the Ministry of Finance as part of post-Hurricane Dorian relief, with the total value exceeding $200,000 and certificates issued in “amounts of $200, $300 and $500.”

The timing of the distribution is likely to draw scrutiny, coming two weeks before the next general election, and more than six years after Hurricane Dorian struck Abaco.

The arrangement Mr Lleida described is likely to revive longstanding concerns about the use of cash or material assistance during election periods to influence voters. His claim about the funding source also raises fresh and potentially explosive questions about whether public funds have been used in a way that blurs the line between government assistance and electioneering.

Certificates obtained by The Tribune show vouchers issued to residents signed by Central and South Abaco candidate Bradley Fox Jr and Preston Roberts, the PLP’s campaign coordinator and a Disaster Reconstruction Authority board member.

Mr Lleida said his company’s role was limited to issuing and honouring the certificates.

“We'll honour them, but the actual responsibility for their distribution falls under the ministry and whoever they direct it to,” he said.

Asked about the timing of the vouchers with the general election weeks away, he conceded: “Why didn’t this happen two years ago?”

It is unclear how many certificates were distributed or who determined the recipients, leaving open questions about how beneficiaries were selected.

Office of Prime Minister Communications Director Latrae Rahming did not answer questions about the source of the funds for the vouchers before press time last night, but Mr Grimes found it unbelievable that a CEO of Premier Importers would say the government paid for it.

Asked whether issuing gift cards to people so close to an election amount to vote buying, Mr Grimes said such practices are carried out by “all sides of the political equation" — a topic long whispered about but rarely addressed publicly.

“There’s nothing wrong with giving that assistance as long as you’re not doing it to influence their vote,” he said. “If I see someone who needs food, what do I do?”

Pressed on whether both things can be true — someone can be in need of help and a candidate is trying to influence their vote — he said that would be up to people to interpret.

When contacted, Mr Fox avoided answering questions about why the vouchers carried political signatures or whether he considered the exercise to be vote buying. Instead, he responded with a biblical reference: “You will never see the righteous forsaken or begging for bread. That’s my comment.”

Mr Roberts could not confirm the source of the funds, but said he believed they came from the party’s relief efforts.

“I know that the government reaches out to donors and sometimes donors say, well, I’ll meet you this way, so I don’t know the percentage on what it is, that is beyond me,” he said. “It came from the party through, I guess what I would say, the relief funds.”

He said the donations fulfilled a commitment to Hurricane Dorian survivors.

“It was a promise made, promise kept that once the country had stabilised, they would be able to do whatever they can to assist,” he said.

He said the process is ongoing, with vouchers expected to be distributed in North Abaco, and that recipients include residents still in need of roofing, cabinetry and bathroom assistance, with single mothers and elderly people receiving higher-value support.

Mr Lleida said he believes the certificates should be distributed on a bipartisan basis, with residents able to seek assistance regardless of political affiliation.

“I mean, we appreciate the business because the economy for local businesses, particularly building supply companies, is not fantastic, so we appreciate the support from government, and we do everything we can to make it work and to give value and to give service for what we’re asked to do,” he said.

He said he has dealt with MPs from various constituencies over the years who used their budgets to help residents with house repairs and other needs, so while the request was larger than usual, he did not find it “bizarre.”

The Bahamas has no comprehensive campaign finance regime, and there are no clear, enforceable rules requiring full disclosure of political spending or governing the use of public resources during election periods. Both major political parties have continually promised to introduce a campaign finance system but have failed to do so.