The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FINANCE Minister Michael Halkitis could not explain why more than $200,000 in publicly funded gift vouchers distributed in Abaco before the general election carried the names of PLP candidates and officials, even as he defended the payments as part of a long-running government relief programme.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr Halkitis said the vouchers were obtained through the proper procurement process and issued under a programme intended to help residents still struggling from Hurricane Dorian.

“It's a part of a longstanding government programme in Abaco, in Grand Bahama,” he said. 

“Individuals are still impacted or still feeling the impact of Dorian, and so there's a programme to do small home repair. It's also here in New Providence, where you know individuals may not have the wherewithal to repair their homes, and throughout the islands, I know in Inagua and other islands, these programmes are ongoing.”

His defence leaves key questions unanswered, including who authorised the vouchers to be issued in the names of PLP candidates and officials, who selected the recipients, whether people outside the PLP’s political network benefited, and why the programme was distributed in that form shortly before the election.

The Tribune first reported that gift certificates worth more than $200,000 were being given to Abaco residents in the names of PLP election candidates and officials as Hurricane Dorian relief payments.

Chris Lleida, chief executive officer of Premier Importers, the company that issued the certificates, confirmed at the time that the Ministry of Finance paid for them. 

He said the vouchers were issued at the ministry’s request, with certificates in amounts of $200, $300 and $500.Certificates obtained by The Tribune showed vouchers issued to residents and signed by Bradley Fox Jr, then the PLP’s Central and South Abaco candidate, and Preston Roberts, the PLP’s campaign coordinator and a Disaster Reconstruction Authority board member.

Valentine Grimes, a PLP trustee, rejected the suggestion at the time that the party would use public funds in that way. 

He later said Mr Fox told him the signature on the vouchers was not his own.Mr Halkitis had pledged to address the controversy during the budget debate, but did not. He spoke on the matter only after reporters questioned him on Friday.

“The fact of the matter is the issue was raised, I think, because of the transparency of the process. If you look in the newspaper, you see the March report, the monthly report of the Procurement Board printed in the newspaper showing that this issue went through the Procurement Board,” he said.

“I think they might have some other issues as to the method of some of the distribution, and you know I can't speak to that.”

Mr Halkitis’ comments did not explain why a government relief programme would be distributed through vouchers bearing political names, whether the Ministry of Finance approved that format, or whether any review has been launched into the method of distribution.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has also avoided giving direct answers on the controversy.When challenged by the opposition in Parliament last week, Mr Davis did not explain why publicly funded vouchers carried PLP names. 

Instead, he pointed to what he alleged were similar practices before the 2012 general election.“You ask Marco City what was done in the 2012 election in Cat Island when he was the candidate. I still have all the receipts, I still have all the letters that were issued even on election day for him,” Mr Davis said.

Long Island MP Dr Andre Rollins accused the government of allowing public money to be used for political purposes, saying opposition and independent candidates did not receive vouchers bearing their names paid for by the public treasury.“Never in the history of this country has the government allowed the people's money to be used to pay, to prosecute a political campaign,” Dr Rollins said.

Former Marco City MP Michael Pintard rejected Mr Davis’ comparison and accused the prime minister of trying to drag the opposition into a controversy he said the government could not defend.“If he put that on the public record what he is saying is completely false,” he said. 

“I mean, the member for Cat Island is really the poster child for patronage. He's never missed an opportunity to incentivise voters by depositing substantial sums at various stores Cat Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador but we weren't cheering on about that, so I don't think he should involve us.”