By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

LEADER of the Official Opposition Philip “Brave” Davis said the Minnis administration has made “untrue” and “groundless” accusations about how much the government’s payroll increased in the final months of the Christie administration.

Minister of State for the Public Service with responsibility for National Insurance Brensil Rolle said in the House of Assembly last week that 6,500 new public service workers were employed under the former administration and that the government’s payroll increased by $10m in that administration’s final five months through new employment.

Mr Rolle said the traditional process by which people are hired to the public service, one that ensured ministries proved that financial provisions existed within their budget for additional hires, was not adhered to by his predecessors whom he accused of establishing a system of hiring that ran parallel to that overseen by the Ministry of Public Service.

Mr Davis did not refute Mr Rolle’s claims using statistics or through specific explanations, however he declared that Mr Rolle’s statements flow from an administration that has “made a disturbing habit of making reckless and false accusations”.

He is expected to answer to the allegations with more depth during his contribution to the budget debate in Parliament.

“(The government is) seemingly intent on functioning as though they remain in opposition,” he said in a statement sent to The Tribune. “While it has been unpleasant and undignified for them to so regularly mislead the public, in government such behaviour is not to be taken lightly and can carry serious consequences. (Mr Rolle) has sought to suggest that there have been irregularities in the hiring of public servants, and has been quoted giving groundless, unsubstantiated numbers as to how much the salaries budget has increased during the last PLP administration. He has no foundation for his claims and must behave more responsibly and maturely.

“The member’s comments are wholly untrue, both in their general assertions of fact, and in the ridiculous estimate of figures. He ought only present factual information to the Bahamian people, not his creative reality.

“We know that this administration has come into office with no vision, no plan and no policies. We understand that their chief skill lies in dishing out unknowns and untruths against the Progressive Liberal Party. They have satisfied a desire for change amongst the Bahamian people; there is no excuse now for unnecessary reaching. They need only be about the people’s business. We invite them to take a more dignified approach to governance, otherwise the Bahamian people will see much sooner than five years, the hollowness of their words, and the emptiness of their promises.”

The budget debate continues today.