FNM parliamentarians yesterday accused the government of “hiding something,” after it apparently refused to provide the official opposition with pertinent information deemed necessary to begin a ‘well-informed’ debate on the controversial Junkanoo report in parliament early yesterday.
In their absence last night, PLP and Independent MPs passed a resolution thanking the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture and officers of his Ministry for their handling of the recent Junkanoo parades.
In the afternoon session of, the prime minister provided some of the requested information, after opposition MPs boycotted a portion of the morning sitting of the House of Assembly.
Just after storming out of Parliament and calling the proceedings a “charade,” Leader of the Official Opposition Alvin Smith told the Bahama Journal that despite assurances from the prime minister last week that all the relevant information would be provided, that never materialized.
“Up until my office closed Tuesday afternoon, the government had not provided the information requested,” Mr. Smith said. “The prime minister did not even extend the courtesy of replying, even if it was simply to say, ‘I received your letter.’ I not only see this as a total lack of respect on the government’s part, but it also seems as if they’re covering up something.”
In his letter, Mr. Smith said he outlined the opposition’s requests for a copy of the contract between Tower Scaffolding Limited of Canada and the government for the rental of bleachers.
He also requested other information relating to the recent parades, including the number of complimentary tickets distributed and the cost of the auditing report prepared by accounting firm, Deloitte and Touche.
According to Mr. Smith, the opposition received no answers, even after continued attempts to do so in the House of Assembly.
It was a move that led Mr. Smith to walk out of the chamber of the lower house, accompanied by Eight Mile Rock MP, Lindy Russell; Lucaya MP, Neko Grant and several members of the Torch Bearers Association, the FNM’s youth arm.
Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and Montagu MP Brent Symonette were not in the chamber at the time. But Mr. Symonette, who joined his colleagues in the opposition committee room, supported Mr. Smith in his claims that the government may be covering something up.
Mr. Smith said even though the government had not provided him with that information up to that point, he was prepared to proceed with his resolution to condemn Minister Wisdom for what he called “reckless spending of taxpayers’ money”
He said, “I don’t know what they are trying to hide, but it is apparently something or another.”
Mr. Smith’s sentiments were echoed by both Mr. Grant and Mr. Symonette.
“I am extremely disappointed in the attitude and the actions of the government this morning,” Mr. Grant said.
“Obviously, there is something amiss and we must get to the bottom of it,” Mr. Grant told the Bahama Journal. “We owe it to the Bahamian people to do so and we shall work in the coming days to ensure that whatever is undercover is brought to light.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Symonette noted that the prime minister’s very “arrogant” comments that the Opposition Leader knows where to get the requested information himself denied the party the opportunity to either prove or disprove their argument. The fact that the information has not been presented, he added, goes to show there is something sinister going on.
“Why was it that Minister Wisdom taped his meetings?” Mr. Symonette asked. “When I served as Attorney General, I never taped a meeting. Cabinet meetings are not taped. This in itself raises a question, and then not to bring that information here, shame.”
Before tabling the Junkanoo report in Parliament last Wednesday, Minister Wisdom revealed to House members that the proceedings of his Junkanoo meetings were recorded, particularly due to the challenges faced in planning the popular cultural event.
Despite the setback, the Opposition MPs said the resolution of condemnation is not a dead issue, and vowed to pursue it at a later date.
But according to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Public Service Fred Mitchell once that resolution is passed, the opposition cannot bring a similar resolution to be dealt with in Parliament during this session.
Such an issue, he pointed out, would have to wait until the house is prorogued.
By Macushla Pinder, The Bahama Journal
