The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

DNA Deputy Leader Chris Mortimer yesterday called on the government to “state definitively” how much money has been collected from VAT and explain how that money will be spent.

In a press statement, Mr Mortimer said as the country’s economy continues to stagnate, the government’s record of fiscal mismanagement “gives way to new concerns about future plans for public funds, more specifically funds collected via the introduction of VAT”.

He added: “In the run up to the January implementation of VAT, the government had suggested that the funds collected would be used to pay down the government’s debt and fund other social programmes. Four months since the launch of the new tax regime, the government has collected more than $10 million dollars.”

In early March, Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis said the government collected nearly $28m in value added tax since the January 1 implementation date.

The Golden Isles MP told The Tribune that $11m was collected from the Department of Customs at the country’s borders and $17m was taken in from large businesses – those making more than $5m in gross sales – during the first filing period.

However, Mr Mortimer charged that the Christie administration has “given no account of how that money is being used, if at all”.

“Instead we have been presented with countless examples of government wastage.

“In the face of the latest government scandals however, (Prime Minister) Perry Christie has offered no indication about how, if at all, these matters will be addressed.

“Despite numerous calls from various quarters of the country for the implementation of a viable Freedom of Information Act, the government continues to drag its feet on this key piece of legislation – which was recommended by the government’s own tax consultants.

“While paying only lip service to the idea of transparency and accountability, the absence of that legislation is merely an excuse for this Christie administration to continue to keep the facts from the Bahamian people.”

He added that before the “dust settles on one set of allegations new scandals are unearthed.”

He noted the recent controversy over the lack of insurance at a fire-damaged dorm at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) in North Andros and concerns from Auditor General Terrance Bastian on spending in the Urban Renewal programme.

“Grabbing headlines most recently have been the breaches taking place at BAMSI – where millions of tax payer dollars went up in smoke as a result of the failure of officials at the Ministry of Works to execute the necessary checks and balances – and recently, allegations of cronyism and reckless spending within Urban Renewal’s small home repairs programme,” he said.

“Rather than take responsibility for the fallout, government appointed officials instead launched a savage attack on the auditor general and have even refused to cooperate with an investigation by the Public Accounts Committee. Such behaviour while appalling is by no means surprising.”

Mr Mortimer said the past three years of PLP governance were filled with examples of government officials who have, in the face of criticism, become defensive and combative proving once again the arrogance of members of this Christie government.