The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement (FNM) Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest says the Christie Administration has failed to help children and schools in Grand Bahama in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

“The lack of action from the PLP government, specifically Ministers Darville, Gibson and Fitzgerald, towards the schools and students in Grand Bahama has been despicable following Hurricane Matthew," Mr Turnquest said on Friday. "Repairs on schools have not been started and the blame is placed at the feet of generous donors. Lunch programmes are in jeopardy due to a lack of payment since the beginning of the school year. Our children and their future are our most precious commodity and the PLP government does not seem to care about them and their wellbeing.

"I recently visited Eight Mile Rock and saw the continued disrepair that the schools are in more than a month after the hurricane and work has not even started. Teachers, students and parents are holding sit-ins and protests over the horrible environment that the Government is forcing our children to endure to learn. 

"And now Minister Darville seems to blame the Grand Bahama Container Port for the slow reaction of his government to fix the school. We should not have to rely on generous donations to fix our schools. This should have been a priority of the government from the start.  Even though they have not been able to process the $150 million loan weeks after it was approved, the government has claimed to bring in millions of dollars in donations and spent $7 million in cleanup efforts yet our schools still sit unrepaired in Grand Bahama.”

Mr Turnquest said in the wake of the problems, reports indicate that the School Lunch Programme across the island is in jepoardy because the Christie Administration hasn't paid for them to continue.

"Luckily the contractors have continued to provide lunch to those students most in need so they do not go hungry," he said. "Since the hurricane passed and students’ homes were destroyed even more students need lunches provided by the government but they are not there to help. I am proud of our young people, though, as they have stepped up and shared their lunches with those that the government is failing. This meal is the only meal that some of our students are getting for the day. The PLP government should learn from these students and step up and do their job to help our children.”

“Ministers Darville, Gibson and Fitzgerald need to step up and start doing their jobs. Minister Darville needs to stop blaming our generous donors for the slow response of his government, Minister Gibson needs to use the money at his disposal to immediately fix all our schools and bring them back to working order, and Minister Fitzgerald needs to ensure that our School Lunch Programme is paid for so that our students do not go hungry. It is time for the PLP government to finally show leadership in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.”