By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

LONG Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner yesterday blasted the Christie administration over the reported launch of a jobs programme in her constituency, claiming 28 people were handpicked for new employment as an election approaches.

Describing this as “ridiculous” and “reprehensible”, the Independent candidate further accused her Progressive Liberal Party rival, attorney Glendon Rolle, of making promises to get support as he campaigned on the island.

While Mr Rolle could not be reached yesterday, PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts said he had no knowledge of a newly-launched jobs programme in Long Island.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Mrs Butler-Turner raised concern over the reported “pre-election hires”, adding that no guidelines or advertising had been done for the jobs.

She also questioned where the government was finding the money to pay the new employees.

This comes as government officials have still not answered questions regarding the reasoning for a quadrupled budget for the Office of the Prime Minister.

Details of the government’s mid-year fiscal performance revealed the $62.532m increase. The increase came under the heading “grants, fixed charges and special transactions.”

“The Prime Minister’s Office has directed the Long Island administrator’s office to implement a job programme with immediate effect,” Mrs Butler-Turner said in a Facebook post.

“Already 28 persons have been identified for these pre-election hires. No guidelines or advertising has been done for such jobs. These persons are being hand picked by the PLP and their Long Island candidate.

“This is not hearsay. This is confirmed using the people’s tax dollars, the very same thing they accused the previous (Ingraham) administration of.”

Days after the PLP defeated the Free National Movement in a landslide victory in the 2012 general election, Prime Minister Perry Christie said his government would seek to prevent future governments from awarding contracts ahead of and after the dissolution of Parliament. He described these as “bribes”, adding that he was concerned about contracts awarded under the former government just prior to the election. However the government did not implement any law or policy prohibiting this and instead has been accused of issuing contracts over the past several weeks to gain favour with voters.

Mrs Butler-Turner, the former Deputy Leader of the FNM, continued: “I cry shame on Perry G Christie. Long Islanders take the jobs. You need them. But catch the wave. Do not vote for these people that have not looked at you since last election.

“They are running scared. Team LBT and the ‘Blue Wave’ is moving to keep you updated of the tricks they are playing on people.”

In a later interview with The Tribune, Mrs Butler-Turner said she found it “unfathomable” that there were people in Long Island that have not been paid for contracts since last year, but yet the PLP was giving away jobs.

“They are all hurting (because) I had the biggest crowd out on Saturday night. Every candidate had an event so they are feeling it. PLPs came to my event to look for food (and) they brought two buses of people to look for food.

“The (PLP) candidate is up and down making these promises and now Christie has given him the validation to hire these people,” she claimed. “Where were they when the people needed help after the hurricane?”

The budget for the Office of the Prime Minister, approved as $17.069m last year, has expanded to $79.947m.

In an interview with The Tribune earlier this month, FNM Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest said this increase was “absolutely crazy”.

Last June, the Office of the Prime Minister’s budget increased from $9.8m in 2014-2015 to $17,069,450 in 2016-2017. That increase was attributable to funding increases for several high-profile projects that came under the Office of the Prime Minister.

This included the National Health Insurance Secretariat, which received $2.5m in last June’s budget.