The Tribune

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

IT’S been a little over a month since the FNM has taken office, and the skeletons are being exposed.

In one month, we have heard damning revelations from the Ministries of Health, Tourism, and Education.

Contracts upon contracts given to supporters, associates, and lovers. Millions of dollars wasted by the former PLP government on frivolous consultants, foreign public relations firms, janitorial and security services, just to name a few.

When you think you’ve heard the worst of it, another Minister stands and reads a report from his Ministry that forces you to hang your head in shame.

What was the previous Government thinking?

How could they be so careless with the public’s money? On the heels of promising fiscal prudence, we have these disgraceful examples of wanton, unabashed waste!

During his budget contribution earlier this month, Elizabeth MP and Minister of Health, Dr Duane Sands said the monthly or annual outlays for foreign consultants, totalled tens of millions of dollars spent.

“Some consultants (were) getting up to $500,000 a month (and) other consultants (were) getting $250,000 per month, non-Bahamian firms. And you ask the question, as we look at the final product of National Health Insurance whether the Bahamian people got value for money. You spent all these millions of dollars and what do we have?

“I would say that National Health Insurance is an example of not only fiscal ineptitude, fiscal mismanagement, but it becomes the poster child of what happened during the last administration.”

He continued: “(There was) a lot of talk (and) a lot of waste. It was like we was ballin’. We got money left right and centre. So we got VAT money, let’s spend it. Let’s put some pretty ads out there and let’s sell the people a dream. But when you dig deep and see what is it that you can deliver to the Bahamian people it’s not much there.”

A lot of talk, but “not much there”.

That phrase could be used to describe the entirety of the PLP’s last five years in office.

We commend this FNM administration for making these contracts public, but the country needs and deserves more.

It is not enough for persons to be exposed and shamed, there must be consequences, and serious ones.

We have heard thus far that foreign public relations firms were making tens of millions of dollars per year off the previous PLP government. The question that must be asked, is what were these services for? What value did they derive for the Bahamian people?

Janitorial services were contracted for clinics that were not even open to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per month, again, another case of wanton waste and disregard for public finances.

We cannot normalize these infractions. It would be to our nation’s detriment. These persons, and firms, should be shamed publicly, and forced to, where possible, to pay these funds back to the treasury.

In the past, Governments would stop, review, and cancel contracts that had clearly been padded, or simply not in the best interest of the country. As the general election was approaching, Governments would normally advance a significant portion of the total value of these contracts just in the event they are cancelled.

It is a disgraceful practice that will only stop when an example is made.

So it is up to this administration, to set such an example.

The Bahamian people want to see justice; not just the cancellation of contracts, but reparations. Let us start somewhere, anywhere, but we must start.

The examples coming out of the Ministry of Health are as good as any. Those multi-million dollar contracts for marketing and public relations should be the first to be scrutinized. We should name and shame these agencies, and get the best lawyers we could find to get the Bahamian people their money back. Maybe then, we will see our Government acting in a more professional and dispassionate manner, especially as general elections near.