OPM Denies Getting Records

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Press Secretary Clint Watson insists the government still hasn’t gotten the information it wants from the former Food Distribution Task Force.

This comes after the former head of that task force provided the media with detailed records showing how money was distributed to various NGOs and a breakdown of the 54,000 households that were assisted.

Jared Higgs has the details.

Former head of the Task Force Susan Holowesko Larson showed the breakdown Nassau Guardian Executive Editor Candia Dames, and Tribune Business Editor Neil Hartnell, Wednesday.

Those records appear to contradict the government’s claim that there were no records on spending, no breakdown of who was being helped, and no paper trail. But Watson insists the government hasn’t seen those records.

On Monday, Minister of Social Services Obie Wilchcombe claimed the government has been unable to provide the World Bank with specific data about how the program’s money was spent. However, The Nassau Guardian says it saw a report the Task Force prepared for the World Bank last year.

A review of the Task Force’s database suggests all those questions could be easily answered as analytics could be run on the database.

But Wilchcombe suggested the Task Force was not accountable and he was embarrassed that he could not answer the World Bank.

Watson ultimately suggests the information sent to the World Bank isn’t what the government is asking for.