The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Opposition’s leader yesterday pledged that concerns over whether taxpayer funds were misused to finance the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) general election campaign are “not going to go quietly” after a further $663,437 outlay on building material vouchers emerged.

Michael Pintard told Tribune Business that the Free National Movement (FNM) plans to “pursue” the issue through the Public Accounts Committee and calls for the necessary authorities to investigate after the Government’s monthly report on public procurement for April revealed further pre-election spending that took the total outlay on building materials vouchers to more than $1.5m in two months.

The April 2026 report revealed that the Ministry of Finance acquired $413,437 worth of vouchers from Freeport-based Contractors Direct, with the $250,000 balance obtained from Premier Importers. Both purchases were made by the ‘direct award’ method, meaning there was no competitive bidding, and took place on April 13, 2026 - less than one month before the general election.

The vouchers were acquired for the purpose of obtaining “building materials in Grand Bahama and Abaco” - seemingly to assist still-struggling residents with rebuilding and repairing their homes more than six-and-a-half years after Hurricane Dorian devastated both islands.

It was the Premier Importers vouchers that created the pre-election controversy after the building materials supplier revealed they had been purchased by the Ministry of Finance. But the vouchers, which were issued in “amounts of $200, $300 and $500”, carried the names and signatures of Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) election candidates and officials.

The April 2026 purchases added to the $900,000 worth of building materials vouchers purchased by the Ministry of Finance in March, which means that the total outlay in the two months prior to the general election exceeds $1.5m.

Some $250,000 worth of building material vouchers was sourced in March from 21st Century Building & Hardware, located on Palm Beach Street, along with a further $200,000 from Wulff Road-based FYP. Some $150,000 was obtained from each of Cartwright’s Building Supplies, Pinder’s Enterprise and Hanson Building Materials to bring the total to $900,000 for that month.

Mr Pintard, who has already written to Michael Halkitis, minister of finance, seeking “a full breakdown” on how these vouchers were distributed and the criteria employed to determine who qualified to receive them, yesterday said Grand Bahama residents had been “reporting” during the campaign that PLP workers and operatives “were distributing” them although he had not witnessed this personally.

Asserting that the Opposition’s concerns over the vouchers’ possible misuse remains, and that taxpayer monies were employed to finance the governing party’s campaign, he added that “a substantial amount were purchased”.

“I think that over the next few weeks and months the picture will become clearer with the amount spent to influence the election,” Mr Pintard argued. “Again, our pressing concern is that so many Bahamians have been in need of assistance for hurricane relief and small home repairs, and the Government has been negligent in meeting those needs.

“They timed their intervention to influence the support of persons. They should have been helping persons all along. What they have done during the election cycle is to influence persons waiting quite some time for assistance, and the Government leveraged their assistance to get political support.”

Mr Pintard added: “They do not see the obligation to explain the actions they have taken in especially putting the names of non-government officials - candidate names - on these vouchers. We have asked them [the Government] to point to the laws that permit them to use public funds to assist candidates on their slate. They see no obligation to give an explanation.

“It will be pursued. We are also reporting it to all authorities who investigate such matters. These are not matters that are going to go quietly. We are going to be very vigorous on them.”

The Government has yet to provide a fulsome explanation to address the building material voucher concerns. Dr Duane Sands, the Opposition’s chairman, yesterday called on the governing party to “reimburse the Public Treasury” for the voucher outlay and said there was “no question” that the matter should be investigated by the likes of the Auditor General, the Government’s own internal financial watchdog, and even the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

“What happened to all these vouchers?” Dr Sands asked. “Were they distributed in east Grand Bahama? And, again, the same question that was asked in the House of Assembly and the Senate: On what basis were these vouchers purchased and distributed, and was their equitable distribution or was this a campaign gimmick?

“That is clearly what happened, but there are feigning ignorance… they have no idea how these vouchers come to have the name of one PLP candidate on. They have been completely silent on any explanation for how this happened? It’s now a matter of us determining what the quantum is. They have used public funds for campaigning, and they ought to admit they have done so as opposed to passive non-denial. I am sure they, too, believe it will blow over.”

Premier Importers revealed that the Ministry of Finance purchased some $200,000 worth of building materials vouchers from itself to assist Abaco residents with post-Hurricane Dorian relief. But the vouchers, which were issued in “amounts of $200, $300 and $500”, carried the names and signatures of Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) election candidates and officials.

This raised fears - denied by PLP representatives - that Bahamian taxpayer dollars were being improperly used to finance the governing party’s re-election campaign and give it an unfair advantage.

Valentine Grimes, a PLP trustee, denied that the party would use public funds in the way alleged by the Opposition. “Anything that candidates give out to people, anything, is paid out by the party or the candidate,” he said. The issuance of the vouchers on Abaco was said to be a way to assist Hurricane Dorian victims.

Asked whether issuing gift cards to people so close to an election amounts to vote buying, Mr Grimes said such practices are carried out by “all sides of the political equation" — a topic long whispered about but rarely addressed publicly.

“There’s nothing wrong with giving that assistance as long as you’re not doing it to influence their vote,” he said. “If I see someone who needs food, what do I do?”

Pressed on whether both things can be true — someone can be in need of help and a candidate is trying to influence their vote — he said that would be up to people to interpret. Some Free National Movement (FNM) candidates in the May 12 general election were also issuing building material vouchers to their prospective constituents pre-election, but they were unlikely to have access to the Public Treasury.

The Bahamas has no campaign finance laws, and there are no clear, enforceable rules requiring full disclosure of political spending or governing the use of public resources during election periods. Both major political parties have continually promised to introduce a campaign finance system but have failed to do so.