IN declaring the former government’s worker training programme “scandalous”, Prime Minister Perry Christie insulted many hard-working Bahamians, FNM deputy leader Loretta Butler-Turner charged.

In a statement issued yesterday, Mrs Butler-Turner said thousands of Bahamians employed by the Job Readiness Programme, designed as a response to the recession, “are shocked and appalled” at the way the Prime Minister described the scheme.

She said: “Mr Christie suggested that thousands of hard working Bahamians were getting paid for doing nothing.

“As with many government programmes, there are typically some individuals who seek to take advantage.

“Where breaches are discovered in various programmes they should be fixed. But it is an insult to the majority of honest Bahamians, and unbecoming of a prime minister, to put a blanket label of ‘scandalous’ on the Job Readiness Programme because some may have taken advantage of the programme.”

Mrs Butler-Turner said a fair and objective review of the programme would reveal that the vast majority of participants were placed on job sites and worked earnestly for the minimum pay they received.

Large numbers received good training, have improved their marketability, and made and are making meaningful contributions in the workplace – as many of their employers can attest, she added.

“Primary wage-earners, parents, spouses and young people benefitted by having a job that allowed them to pay their bills in tough times, something many may not have if Mr Christie and the PLP gut what has been a beneficial programme.”

Mrs Butler-Turner said the Prime Minister “should have bitten his tongue” when using the word “scandalous”, considering some of the scandals that went on during his last administration.

She added: “Today, what is scandalous is his government’s victimisation of scores of Bahamians since the general election, who have been terminated, had their contracts ended or not renewed, strictly on the basis that they were believed to be FNM supporters.

“What is scandalous is the fact that while crime continues unabated, he does not allow for the publishing of correct or complete crime statistics.

“What is scandalous is the fact that he has produced a budget deficit of some $550 million while criticising a trumped-up deficit of $505 million.

“What was scandalous was his backdoor attempt to give his ministers of state a raise. What is scandalous is his appointment of the most bloated Cabinet in our history.

“What is scandalous is that he has hired foreign consultants on a national lottery, which is gambling, while he says that the government will not take a position on gambling in a promised referendum on the gambling.”

Mrs Butler-Turner said the Free National Movement remains proud to have offered hurting Bahamians an opportunity to earn a living and receive training in some of the worst economic times seen in the history of the Bahamas.

“We urge to the PLP to go and do likewise, instead of demonising and insulting hard working Bahamians,” she said.