The Office of the Prime Minister has taken over an investigation relating to a lucrative tourism marketing contract that was awarded by and eventually canceled by the previous administration, according to Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe.
Wilchcombe said the government has also engaged the services of an accounting firm to look into the matter.
The foreign company that got the marketing contract was allegedly brought to the Ministry of Tourism by then Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, according to documents from the Ministry of Tourism.
According to the documents previously made public by The Nassau Guardian, Vanderpool-Wallace had become locked in a war with the most senior officials of the Ministry of Tourism over the contract.
The documents show that he ignored their advice to terminate the contract even though those senior officials determined that taxpayers were not getting value for money.
The ministry entered into the marketing contract with the American company in August 2010. The contract called for the ministry to pay the firm $1.65 million between September 2010 and June 2013.
The documents confirm that the company was already paid $825,000, plus out of pocket expenses, before the contract was finally terminated several weeks before the general election on the order of the Cabinet secretary.
