Urban Renewal co-chairs are expected to meet with PAC in September

Thursday, August 13, 2015

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

PUBLIC Accounts Committee Chairman Hubert Chipman said Urban Renewal 2.0 Co-Chairs Algernon Allen and Cynthia “Mother” Pratt are expected to give an account for the operations of the government’s controversial programme in September.

Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, following the PAC’s meeting to discuss the way forward over its stalled probe of the initiative, Mr Chipman said he gave verbal notice to Mr Allen of the committee’s intent. He said a formal notice is to follow in the days ahead.

“We will be meeting with them and everyone else that is left in September because this is now the vacation period as there are only two weeks left in this month,” he said.

“I spoke with Algernon Allen and told him that it would be in September.”

Last month, Prime Minister Perry Christie tabled Auditor General Terrence Bastian’s controversial report into Urban Renewal and its Small Homes Repair (SHR) programme, giving the PAC the go-ahead to interview persons and send for people without interference in its Urban Renewal probe.

Conference

At the time, however, Mr Chipman said it was unlikely that either co-chair would be interviewed before the end of July because he had to attend the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s (CPA) conference.

Following the conference, Mr Chipman said it was his intention to question Mrs Pratt and Mr Allen during the first week of this month.

In April, Mr Bastian’s scathing report was leaked to the press and sparked months of heated debate over the management of Urban Renewal and possible abuses of the programme.

However, the co-chairs refused to appear before the PAC to answer questions because the report had not been tabled in Parliament.

Speaker of the House Dr Kendal Major later ordered the group to hold off on its investigation until the audit was tabled in the House of Assembly.

As Mr Christie tabled the audit last month, he said the PAC could now summon whom it

needed to ensure transparency.

He said the government was prepared to facilitate the work of the PAC.

However, FNM Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest, also a member of the PAC, accused the government of delaying the process “to buy time to clean up” Urban Renewal’s records.

Mr Turnquest maintained that the PAC had always acted within its parameters.

He expressed the hope that the committee’s work could quickly get back on track, now that Mr Allen and Mrs Pratt no longer had an “excuse” to dodge the PAC.

However, Mr Allen dismissed the assertion, telling The Tribune last month that the remarks were “scandalous and filth that could only come from an evil mind”.

Mr Allen went on to defend Urban Renewal as he insisted that regardless of what is uncovered as the PAC investigates, the work was done for the good of the poor who needed relief.

Report

The former FNM Cabinet minister said that now that the report has been laid on the table of the House, he had no reservations over appearing before the PAC when called to do so.

In June, it was revealed that the government commissioned an independent report into Urban Renewal’s SHR project.

Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the report was commissioned as a result of “areas of discrepancy” in Mr Bastian’s report on Urban Renewal.

That report, which was also tabled last month, found that the first phase of the Small Homes Repair programme received value for money and contradicted areas of Mr Bastian’s audit.

Comments

themessenger says...

Why the sudden rush, that whitewash done dry and starting to peel, Brave them now turned their attention to the Post Office Savings Bank. Sorry Mr. Bastian but more whitewash on the way.

Posted 13 August 2015, 12:13 p.m. Suggest removal

TalRussell says...

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2015…

Posted 13 August 2015, 1:11 p.m. Suggest removal

proudloudandfnm says...

Make sure to grill them on the Auditor General's report and not the PLP crony report now......

Posted 13 August 2015, 1:28 p.m. Suggest removal

Emac says...

The house shown above in Tal's comments is the exact type of residence that the sitting prime minister deserves to live in. But in reality, if one was to compare his performance to the type of place he should live in, then he should be living in a cardboard box. I have never seen such a lousy bunch of pretenders in all my life. LBT needs to slap all a dem for being so dam wutless!

Posted 13 August 2015, 1:38 p.m. Suggest removal

birdiestrachan says...

The remarks were "scandalous and filth that could only come from an evil mind" Mr: Allen is correct it is shameful to see how low these FNM's will go just to be in power. The house in the picture are the kind of homes the Urbane renewal people are trying to repair. Mr: Christie has no need to live there. The FNM's for the most part are very mean spirited, and the truth means nothing at all to them; There are some good honest FNM's

Posted 13 August 2015, 3:07 p.m. Suggest removal

Birdie, why doesn't Mr. Christie give an account of how many of these type of houses he, Mother and Bulgie have renewed in his own constituency seeing as that's where most of them are anyway? When did YOU last take a walk through Centreville Constituency or you scared of getting robbed and a cut ass from them good poor black people you're so fond of referring too?
Outhouse,government pump and poverty the hallmarks of Christie's constituency for the last forty years.

Posted 13 August 2015, 3:51 p.m. Suggest removal

Firstly birdie, I am not associated with any party unlike yourself who is a die hard PLP. Secondly, the mean spirited ones are the members of the PLP who have been fooling the masses for years now. The same poor people that voted for them three years ago are in the same deplorable state. The prime minister is not fooling anyone by walking around trying to put on a concern face. The people will rise up in 2017 and get rid of this awful crew forever. And you and the others who praise and worship this wicked party will all live the rest of your lives reminiscing about the use to be. Oh and you forgot to mention how I also pointed out that the whole bunch a dem need a good whooping.

Posted 13 August 2015, 8:04 p.m. Suggest removal

Comrades, considering the total 2015-2016 cost of attending Harvard University is $60,659 for tuition, room, board and fees combined, the PLP cabinet could have taken the $27 million done spent on URBAN RENEWAL 2.0, to have registered, fed and housed 428 highly intelligent Bahamalanders to have been enrolled as students at Harvard. Can you imagine the positive impact they would have on the economy upon returning back home with their degrees in hand from Harvard?
Imagine the impact, if the PM had taken the $27 millions done wasted on URBAN RENEWAL 2.0, plus the millions more to be wasted at the Andros BAMSI fiasco, to have sent off even hundreds more students to countries around the world, for higher learning. And you wouldn’t need no Mother Pratt and Algernon Allen, to administer the soon to be combined $100 million BAMSI and URBAN RENEWAL 2.0, goin end up costing taxpayers.
I’ll take Harvard any day, over Mother Pratt and Algernon.
Don't even get me started running my mouth on dat College Da Bahamaland.
Pay attention cuz Comrade Tal, does thinks these wasted millions, through my gifted brain, so logically.

Posted 13 August 2015, 3:25 p.m. Suggest removal

Wideawake says...

Education is a wonderful thing! But education, in the sense of being " book smart", on its own, is not the answer. Education is a continuing process from birth to death. Everyone's life experiences educate them every day of their lives, and ethics, morals, compassion, thankfulness, respect and kindness shown to others are even more important than the "book smart" part of education.

We have many highly "educated" politicians on all sides of the political divide, and look at the mess they have created in our Bahamaland!

At this time in our country's development we are suffering from a "Morals and Ethics" deficit, not an Education deficit.

Posted 15 August 2015, 11 a.m. Suggest removal

PKMShack says...

listen to TAL,,, lol you almost thinking country before party PLP FNM DNA go ahead TAL now maybe birdie will grow a brain and put country first. Too hell with all these old heads and their thinking, you to BIRDIE!

Posted 14 August 2015, 12:25 p.m. Suggest removal