STATEMENT BY FRED MITCHELL MP FOX HILL
ON ALLEGATIONS OF MISSING 20 MILLION DOLLARS
24th November 2011
As a former member of the Cabinet of the last government, I take grave offence at the recently planted suggestion by a public official that 20 million dollars of funding for hurricane relief went missing.
The suggestion is patently absurd. It is so absurd that it should be ignored and put in the scrap heap where it belongs. This the reason why so many of our supporters believe that public servants are now confusing their roles and acting as political operatives. The statement was a serious tactical error on the part of that public official.
I am certain that the facts will show that 20 million dollars is not missing. It did not go down a hole. How does 20 million dollars go missing? It cannot. You might argue that the records do not reflect accurately how it was spent, but the statement was made with the innuendo that somehow there was some malfeasance in public office. It becomes part of the usual mantra of an increasingly desperate FNM: blame the PLP for everything.
I experienced this before where the Auditor General made similar remarks about the use of public funds in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during my time as minister when in fact the only issue was the fact that the public officials did not on the particular day the Auditor General’s staff showed up did not have their documentation in order. There were no missing funds.
The government must now lead. This is no time to blame the PLP. Just do your job instead of spinning nonsense and propaganda in the streets because it is election season. As for Branville McCartney MP and leader of the DNA, he ought to be ashamed of himself for the remarks made in this morning’s press about this matter. Having separated himself from the Ingraham administration, to now join in this foolishness is simply beyond belief. That too is why many see the DNA as a stalking horse for the FNM.
