By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
THE Free National Movement is not satisfied with the itemised list of the $1.2 million spent on the January 28 gaming referendum tabled in Parliament yesterday.
Opposition leader Dr Hubert Minnis said his party expected that the cost of the UK consultants, hired to advise the government ahead of the vote, would have been included.
He demanded that the government release to the public the cost of the consultants. He also wanted that information laid on the table of the House.
“The consultants should be a part of it,” Dr Minnis said, “because leading up to the referendum, they advised the government on gaming in the Bahamas, which was advice that the public was never even privileged to.
“You cannot buy a cake and only give the price of a slice and not the whole cake,” he said.
In the House of Assembly, when asked by Dr Minnis if he could give an estimate of the cost of the consultants, Dr Nottage said he did not know as it did not come before his ministry.
According to the breakdown of expenditure the numbers vote, which was $1,238,092.95 closed under budget as the treasurer had allocated $1,393,100 for its expenses.
On Tuesday, Dr Nottage had vowed to make public a categorised listing of the expenditure of the referendum stating that he held his integrity close to him.
He insisted that it had nothing to do with the FNM’s repeated calls for the information. Dr Nottage could not tell reporters how his estimate of costs were off by about $4 million. Saying that his mistake was regrettable, he refused to comment further.
The matter reached a climax after Dr Nottage inadvertently told reporters last week that by his estimation the referendum cost about $5 million. That statement sparked a wave of public comment as weeks before Prime Minister Perry Christie said the vote was more than $1 million.
The FNM immediately called for Mr Christie’s resignation as Minister of Finance because of the confusion over the referendum accounts.
Comments
proudloudandfnm 11 years, 1 month ago
Well we know it was more than the 1.2 they claimed. PLP lying again! Muddo sick!!
ThisIsOurs 11 years, 1 month ago
And don't forget the staffing costs including, policemen, parliamentary registry workers and other civil servants. These people would have been doing other tasks if this poll had not been conducted, they are therefore part of the total project cost.
For BJN to say he doesn't know because it's not his ministry is the wrong answer. Someone had to lead the project, someone had to know the costs budgeted for each aspect of the entire project, whichever ministry it came from..if that person was not him then we should know who it is and that person should table the entire budget.
Wasn't there also a local team that travelled to view gaming operations outside the Bahamas? What was the cost of that?
banker 11 years, 1 month ago
Sigh, unfortunately there is nothing else on the horizon. Bran is a nutbar and he lied about the democratic election of him as a leader. If a party started that wanted to do the right thing, they would never get elected, because they wouldn't buy votes with tee shirts, hams, rent payments etc. This is why I feel that the Bahamas is screwed and will not recover until it hits rock bottom.
Here is a prediction that you can take to the bank. I predict that there will be a dramatic high stakes robbery that will end badly and there will be machine guns firing on one of the main streets of Nassau. It will get that bad.
briwest1773 11 years, 1 month ago
wow.....machine guns...I see you have lost all hope. Dont despair...BJ Nottage has got this crime thing under control....we will beat last year's murder rate by at least 1 or 2......lol
TalRussell 11 years, 1 month ago
Comrades I is forget to tie the string on me finger to remind me exactly what was the amount Hubert had tabled in the House to represent HIS pet Constitutional referendum's costs to taxpayers? Maybe Minnis can look into that cost, being he was in Hubert's cabinet? But what the hell, I'm go'in go out on a limb and say Minnis never had the slightest clue what Hubert ever spent on ANYTHING, much less the Constitutional thing of his? These red shirts can't be foolish enough to think the people are so stupid as to believe that they're now concerned about how taxpayers monies are being spent? I guess the Miami-based Cuban Movement has now turned into a red shirts embarrassing issue against Minnis's already shaky leadership? Calling Comrade Brent Symonette to the rescue?
ThisIsOurs 11 years, 1 month ago
Hubert Ingraham gone fishing. Perry Christie has his finger on the IMPLODE button for the entire Bahamas. Which one of them do you think Bahamians should be more concerned with?
TalRussell 11 years, 1 month ago
Them fishies best do what all he red cabinet ministers and MP's done. Keeps they mouths shut!
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