The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Opposition’s finance spokesman yesterday said food assistance demands on the Red Cross’s Grand Bahama operation have more than doubled year-over-year.

Kwasi Thompson, the east Grand Bahama MP, told the House of Assembly that the number of persons it is helping to feed has increased from 28 to 60 with the number of monthly food packages it distributes also having increased. He added that this signals food insecurity on Grand Bahama is growing despite assertions that the economy is improving. 

“While the PLP government persists in telling Bahamians that the economy is doing well, living the reality on the ground with my constituents tells a very different story,” said Mr Thompson.

“I am advised that, as of a year ago, the [Grand Bahama Red Cross] fed 28 persons daily, providing 28 meals each day. As of today, that number has doubled to 60 persons fed daily. Additionally, they provide monthly packages. Previously, a year ago, they distributed 20 packages per month. Now they distribute 28 packages, which again is an increase and is limited only by the resources they have. They have reported that the needs have grown over these past years.”

Mr Thompson argued that there is a disconnect between the Government’s claims of a robust economy and the reality experienced by Bahamians.  He said non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are on the front lines feeding the hungry, while the Government has failed to address the root causes of food insecurity in The Bahamas.

“If, as the Prime Minister [Philip Davis KC] claims, our economy is robust and households are better off, then why are thousands more families turning to NGOs like the Red Cross for basic subsistence? Why is charitable food assistance expanding when the Government insists that we have made meaningful progress?” he asked.

“This stark disparity between political rhetoric and social reality highlights not only the ongoing cost of living pressures Bahamians face, but also the growing necessity of supporting and resourcing the Red Cross and other NGOs on the front lines feeding the hungry, while unfortunately the Government’s policies continue to fall short in addressing the root causes of food insecurity.”

Mr Thompson also defended the work done by Bahamian NGOs during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said increasing demand for food assistance makes the partnership with NGOs and frontline charities crucial for addressing immediate needs, and they should be “strengthened, not disparaged”.

“These NGOs rose to the challenge under extraordinary national hardship. Yet, unfortunately, the PLP stood in this place and declared that $10m of the Bahamian people’s money had simply vanished. They accused the programme of widespread lack of record-keeping and unexplained and undocumented expenditure, and even suggested that well-established organisations such as the Red Cross and major churches were not properly involved. Unfortunately, that narrative simply collapses under the weight of the audit itself,” said Mr Thompson.

“The Auditor General does not indict the Red Cross. It does not condemn the NGOs. In fact, it does the opposite. It commends them. It says that they did a very good job under difficult circumstances. The Auditor General commended the NGOs and also commended the Red Cross Society, while the PLP government pointed fingers and cast suspicion. The Auditor General found that the Red Cross and the NGO partners fed the nation. They fed the nation, zone by zone, island by island, week after week.”