The Ministry of Finance ought to have issued a detailed statement ahead of this matter on this matter, outlining the number and rank of officers to be paid, the total amount that has been approved for payment, how and when payments will be made, the amount to be paid at each installment and how the payments are to be financed since they are not budgeted this current fiscal year. This level of disbursement without these details from the government to taxpayers is unacceptable. Yes, give what is owed. But be fully accountable to the taxpayers. The two ought not be mutually or otherwise, exclusive. This is what Bahamians have been complaining about for the longest time; money being spent but we are not being told how much, when, how, etc.

Translation, in the illustrious words of Leslie Miller, "our *** ga sweat".

The problem though is, that it was just that, a political campaign promise. While the monies or time off equal to, are owed by order of the courts, the FNM government did not have to keep Christie's date of payment if it would not have been financially feasible at this time. Christie threw that date out as a campaign ploy. The taxpayers are not to be put on the hook for a politician's tricks. If the money truly was not there to do this now, the government had the responsibility to inform officers of the current fiscal realities, and set out a fiscally responsible timeline for payments owed.

It is unthinkable that the Minister, who must approve the disbursements from the Consolidated Fund for these payments, does not know what he approved.

> He said they had to borrow the money to pay the police. has he borrowed the money already.

There is no legal authority to have borrowed any money outside of approved borrowing from the current budget year which has already been exhausted, so legally none could have been borrowed prior to these payments being made. They will have to account for this in whatever borrowing is going to be requested when the Budget is presented this week.

> He could not say offhand how much money will be paid overall or how much will be paid in any tranche.

What? He is the Minister of Finance. How in the world could he not know this information?

Again, why is a political party chairman speaking to these issues and not the Prime Minister? Collie is not a member of the government and he certainly is not head of the Cabinet. Is this Bradley Roberts 2.0?

The law is $50,000 max without public tender.

How will it even help anyone in Nassau who it claims it will help is the question as well. The FNM never actually defined how that plan would work in real terms. On the face of it, the persons who would immediately benefit are those who can afford to buy up the land that would suddenly become available tax free. Otherwise, on the face of it, this matter is open to considerable abuse.

@thisisours I agree with you 100%. Campaign promises are one thing and are often the substance of pandering. What we need now is a responsible and effective government, not a party acting as if they are still on the campaign trail.