Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis. (File photo)
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.
Comments
Dawes 4 years, 10 months ago
Fully agree, but they are going to need some penalties in place to enforce this, otherwise the streets will be covered in garbage for a long time after the next carnival.
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 10 months ago
Next year Minnis will be announcing an even more costlier FNM Carnival. LMAO
TalRussell 4 years, 10 months ago
Typical how the schoolyard bullying ways Imperialists red shirts insults works. First you launch election campaign under promise (lie) - how vote in the 35 and 2017 - 2022, 'It's going be's the people's time' - then once the 35 take power - you begin day one governing start levy the nastiest of insults by telling comrade natives to go wash they dirty selves cause they smelly rank stinking up damn colony, yes, no...... God save Queen! ...
birdiestrachan 4 years, 10 months ago
doc lies about repairs to the children's ward. the masterful liar that he is.
Just stop it doc. let the Bahamian people know there will be no more PLP carnivals. You are the Boss. and while you are at it close down the number business they say that is PLP also.
strut your stuff. It is "The peoples time" and we shall see how far you will go. You are the big boss.
concernedcitizen 4 years, 10 months ago
I love how he gets under your skin .Your right it was the PLP that legalized the numbers , ie money sucking casinos , and their two other great feats they also spent 20 million to bring a Trinidadian here for a carnival lol and looted BOB .The looting of banks goes way back to the Peoples penny saving bank and The Development bank .You can,t just loot the treasury the opposition gets to see those books , so you make things like the development bank ,the hotel corporation , BOB or Carinval to enrich you and your friends .
killemwitdakno 4 years, 10 months ago
What happened to requiring events to have proof of contracted cleanup beforehand giving them a permit? This is not hard.
The fact that gov’t paid that in the first place is flabbergasting.
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