The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands has accused the Davis administration of prioritising spending on campaigning in West Grand Bahama and Bimini while neglecting other national priorities.

He said schoolchildren in the Prime Minister’s constituency of San Salvador lack functioning toilets due to the absence of running water.

He said the new primary school in the Prime Minister’s constituency has open vats of water that they are siphoning for sanitation, and they won’t fix the school because no funds have been set aside for it.

Dr Sands claims the government has suspended parliament to go off and campaign in Bimini and West Grand Bahama where they are now spending money to fix things up after two years in office.

According to Dr Sands, the clinic in Bimini has had a fresh coat of paint in the last couple of days. And in Eight Mile Rock, the workers are planting grass and “prettying up” a building the government had not touched in more than two years.

He said: “Money spending, but where is it coming from?”

Meanwhile, the FNM chairman said across the country, National Health Insurance has been put on go-slow due to a lack of funds.

“Doctors payments have been delayed and enrollment is slow because there is no money in the kitty,” Dr Sands said. NHI is rationing healthcare because this administration does not believe that it should get the money it needs to run it.

The Tribune has previously reported concerns from NHI providers over delays in payments. 

Dr Sands added that Bahamians abroad are having to leave school because the government is not paying scholarship grants on time.

“Yes, grants for scholarships are not being paid by this administration on time, and students around the world are having to struggle to stay in school. Some families have had to pull their kids from school,” he said.

Dr Sands said medical supply companies have not been paid since August even as the government brags about the billions of dollars they are extracting from the pockets of Bahamian taxpayers.

He also said the required reporting on the country’s fiscal state of affairs is late again.

“So, as you look at the preparations for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, let’s send this government a message because they clearly believe that the money they are spending is for the PLP’s political interests, and they are pretending to care about the people of West Grand Bahama, but we ain’t no fool,” he said.