The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE former government issued more than 80 contracts worth more than $24 million during the period of the election campaign, it has been claimed.

New Deputy Prime Minister Philip "Brave" Davis, who is also Minister of Works and Urban Development, said the contracts issued by the FNM administration between March and May are under review by the government.

Mr Davis told The Tribune: "The very recent contracts, the stuff that was given within the time of the dissolution of Parliament to election day, those are being looked at with a view of determining whether or not they are necessary worth at this time and whether the funding is in place for those contracts."

Earlier this month on the campaign trail, PLP leader Perry Christie, who is now Prime Minister, accused the former government of using public funds to get votes.

Branding the use of Public Treasury funds during the campaign period as "open bribery", Mr Christie vowed that his party would seek to create legislation that would bar the government from awarding contracts or jobs during the election period.

Yesterday, former Minister of Finance Zhivargo Laing said while he could not confirm or deny the figure, it seemed unlikely.

Mr Laing called for the details of the contracts to be made public as it could include standard government business such as contract renewals. He added that most contracts were signed publicly.

When questioned on reports that a contract awarded to a multi-million dollar company was cancelled by his government, Mr Davis said that no contracts had been terminated by his ministry.

"From the Ministry of Works nothing has been terminated.

"I'm not aware of any contracts being terminated to date," he said.