By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday admitted that he is not at all pleased with the way the former FNM administration handled the legacy problem of the New Providence Landfill.

However, he contended that the brunt of the burden should be laid at the feet of the current Christie administration for not being able to alleviate the situation.

While insisting that the FNM he now leads is fully prepared to address the issue of recurring fires at the city dump, Dr Minnis on Monday said he would be the first to admit he was “not happy with how it was dealt with” in the past.

He was referring to how past FNM administrations, led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, handled substantial grant funding provided to the Bahamas by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the mid to late 1990s.

Dr Minnis spoke to reporters at the entrance of the Jubilee Gardens Subdivision, flanked by his party’s Mount Moriah candidate Marvin Dames and Tall Pines candidate Don Saunders.

“It was a matter that was being dealt with, but obviously not to our satisfaction,” stated the Killarney MP.

“I would admit that and we still have the issue, so we have to deal with it appropriately and have more accountability as we move forward.”

He added: “That is why you see I have these (new candidates) here. So as one moves on, you have continuity and a complete understanding.”

Clarifying the point of IDB funding, Dr Minnis stated that financing provided was to be used to construct plants throughout the Bahamas and not just one modern facility in New Providence.

Despite his assertions on the matter and attempts to distance himself from the previous FNM administrations, Dr Minnis stopped short of clarifying what happened to millions of dollars granted to the Bahamian government of that time.

When pressed on the issue, Dr Minnis said the focus should be on the Christie administration currently serving the Bahamian people, adding that the government’s lack of effort over the last five years should anger residents in proximity of the landfill.

“The problem is still not resolved. So once problems have not been resolved, would you be happy? No I am not happy.”

Dr Minnis continued: “Be assured that the FNM will resolve this issue. You cannot repeatedly have fires in the area; the residents, the quality of their life deteriorating and the residents continuously exposed to this.”

Dr Minnis said once elected, his government would not spare any expense to resolve the issues at the dump, asserting that the “long-term” plans being considered by his party would address the dump.

“The dumpsite, you cannot approach it just dealing with a few episodes. You must have long-term planning.

“But the long-term planning cannot just be at the dumpsite itself, the long-term planning must be at the educational level and must also begin at the home so that you are separating materials so that you can commence recycling.

“There are certain collection of garbage that should not be a part of the dumpsite and that is a part of educational, separation and recycling, so we will have to move into those areas and we are prepared to do it.

“We are not looking at cost, cost is one thing but life is another and to me, life and quality of life is much more important than cost,” Dr Minnis said.