By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has told Carnival band owners to clean up after themselves when future Road Fever parades have ended.

While the clean up effort for the 2019 parade cost taxpayers just under $10,000, Dr Minnis said moving forward, “We will save our money for something else.”

“Of course, many of the vendors who benefited from the PLP Carnival were well-connected special interests,” Dr Minnis told Parliament on Wednesday. “If private citizens want to have a carnival, that is their right. But the government should not be paying for such a party. So, this government stopped spending the people’s money on the PLP Carnival.”

He added: “And, Mr Speaker, I want to send a notice out to the private owners, the contractors of the Carnival, we made a commitment that we will not spend government money.

“But during the last Carnival it cost us an average $9,473.92 to clean up after it.

“That will be the private owners’ responsibility next time. We will save our money for something else.”

The government indicated in 2018 that it intended to completely privatise Bahamas Carnival ahead of that year’s festival.

In 2015, the Christie administration spent $11.3m on the inaugural event, going over its initial budget of $9m. The total cost of the first carnival was $12.9 million, with the rest covered by sponsors.

In 2016, the festival incurred a cost of $9.8m, $8.1m of which was subsidised by the government. The 2017 financial report was not released.

However, Paul Major, the former Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) chairman, said $4m was spent on the 2017 version.

Dr Minnis on Wednesday castigated the former government saying it preferred to spend over $25m on Carnival instead of completing much needed repairs to the Children’s Ward at Princess Margaret Hospital. The Progressive Liberal Party has denied this assertion.