The Tribune

By CELESTE NIXON

Tribune Staff Reporter

cnixon@tribunemedia.net

ALLEGATIONS that former Education Minister Desmond Bannister sought to use public funds to politically influence the electorate in Andros were denounced as a complete falsehood by the senator yesterday.

During a press conference, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald claimed that while vying for votes, Mr Bannister spent a disproportionate amount of money on school repairs in North and Central Andros, almost as much as was spent on repairs on the rest of the Family Island schools combined.

“How can he rationalise spending $1.7 million on 1,480 students in North and Central Andros and $2.1 million on the remaining 15,700 students throughout our Family Islands?” Mr Fitzgerald asked.

“I deem it one of the most blatant and obscene abuses of public funds which I have ever seen. On the face of it one is drawn to conclude that it was done for the sole purpose of influencing the outcome of the election contest in the seat which he was running.”

But speaking with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Bannister flatly denied the allegations, claiming the work completed in Andros was necessary due to the poor state the school was left in by the former PLP administration.

Mr Bannister said he is “sorry” the minister feels he has to embark on a personal attack against him, just because some concerns have been raised regarding the repair of schools.

He said it is completely untrue that he spent $1.6 million on summer repairs in Andros, and vowed to demonstrate this upon his return to the senate.

Defending his record, Mr Bannister said he is proud of what he accomplished in Andros during his ministry, including building bathroom facilities, new septic systems and new class rooms.

“The conditions the PLP left the school in Andros, I am pleased with what I did,” he said. “I challenge him to show where I spent $1.7 million on school summer repairs, it is untrue.”

At a press conference at FNM headquarters on Sunday, Mr Bannister accused the government of neglecting to complete school repairs before the start of the new term, leaving schools across the country “unsafe.”

The FNM Senator outlined a number of deficiencies present in schools, including haphazard paint jobs in the capital and the hurricane damaged Crooked Island High School.

“Under this PLP administration a number of schools have been left unsafe for students and teachers while at some schools repairs have been neglected altogether,” Mr Bannister said. “Quite frankly, it is a very messy picture even by PLP standards, which are low when it comes to school readiness.”

However, Mr Fitzgerald said he faced a number of challenges that were inherited from the former FNM administration and they cannot be fixed overnight.

“When I become Minister in May of 2012 I met a myriad of issues facing not only our education system, but also the physical plant of the 162 public schools scattered throughout our archipelago.

“Many of the issues he (Mr Bannister) now raises, he met in place more than three years ago, and left them even though he had three years to correct them,” he said.

$5.6 million was spent on school repairs, much of which was a direct result of years of neglect, said Mr Fitzgerald. He said his ministry addressed the structural, electrical, plumbing and roof repairs.

Regarding Crooked Island High School, which was damaged by Hurricane Irene last September, Mr Fitzgerald said because the cost of repairs are above the $50,000 it requires tenders’ board approval and repairs should be completed by the end of the year.

“I want to assure Mr Bannister and the general public that the principals, teachers, students and the union are fully aware of the extraordinary efforts made this year, moreso than any other year in recent memory, to prepare the physical plant for the students return,” he said.