Thursday, June 14, 2018
By KHRISNA RUSSELL
Deputy Chief Reporter
krussell@tribunemedia.net
A VENDOR contracted to remove used tyres from the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation received payment for the work, but did not complete the job, Golden Gates MP Michael Foulkes said yesterday.
According to the MP, who is also BAIC chairman, the work was not started.
Nonetheless the company received three separate cheques totaling $6,900.
While he agreed the money paid was not significant, Mr Foulkes said it was a testament of the manner in which the former government ran the affairs of the country.
"We continue to discover fiscal abuses and a gross lack of accountability and transparency by the former government which has put BAIC in dire financial straits," Mr Foulkes said yesterday during his budget contribution.
"For example, Mr Speaker, during the last administration, while the amount involved is not significant, it speaks to the way they governed.
"A person was asked to remove tyres from BAIC property, the headquarters. He was given a BAIC cheque as an instalment or mobilisation but did not remove one - not a single tyre from the BAIC property.
"In spite of this, the same person was given a second BAIC cheque again, knowing full well that he received the first one and did absolutely nothing for it. Still no tyres were removed.
"Incredibly less than a month before the general election, April last year, this same person was given a third BAIC cheque and from that day to this day, he has still not removed a single tyre from BAIC's property."
He continued: "In total the person was paid as I said in the beginning it's not a large amount - $6,900 by three BAIC cheques. Mr Speaker this is not right.
"He did absolutely nothing to earn the $6,900 and they pretend that they do not understand why we have to increase taxes."
Mr Foulkes also confirmed BAIC has started to pay off its delinquent National Insurance Board contributions.
Earlier this year he revealed outstanding debts standing at $3m - including $1m owed to the National Insurance Board (NIB).