Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Dr. Duane Sands said yesterday that the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority appears to be nothing more than a “political slush fund” to show favor to Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) supporters.
He was responding to a Nassau Guardian story which showed that the authority spent more than $141 million over the last four years and has yet to account for how the funds have been spent.
Sands said that he finds the situation ironic, as the record spending comes after the PLP criticized the authority’s spending under the Minnis administration, with Prime Minister Philip Davis calling the authority a “slush fund”.
“It’s amazing that the prime minister could fix his mouth to talk about a slush fund when every single year there’s been a cost overrun in Beaches and Parks, when the chairman of Beaches and Parks promises an audit, and that audit never, ever sees the light of day,” Sands said.
“Clearly, this is a political tool – a political slush fund for the PLP to show favor to their friends and family.
“You wonder what happened to all the money because certainly, if you look around town at the state of the public parks, it’s nothing short of disgraceful. It’s shameful, the condition of these public parks.
“When you look around New Providence, where Beaches and Parks spent millions and millions of dollars above and beyond the budgeted amounts, it’s difficult to understand how public parks could be in the deplorable state that they’re in.”
Sands listed Mount Moriah and Elizabeth Estates as areas with parks in need of repairs.
Several political figures have launched private clean ups and repairs of public parks, including the PLP’s Southern Shores candidate Obie Roberts, Fort Charlotte candidate Sebas Bastian, and Golden Isles MP Darron Pickstock.
Sands said he expects to see more work done as election day approaches.
“It’s open season now,” Sands said.
“Of course, you’re going to see a whole lot of work on the parks. Because you know the election coming.
“But why did you let it get to this point?”
For the 2021/2022 fiscal year, the authority had a budget of $15,200,000 but spent $24,697,497.
For the 2022/2023 fiscal year, $27,000,000 was budgeted, and the authority spent $27,499,087.
For the 2023/2024 fiscal year, $24,000,000 was budgeted, and the authority spent $33,236,200.
For the 2024/2025 year, $24,000,000 was budgeted, and the authority had spent $31,044,898 by March 2025.
There is no public record on the authority’s spending for the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 fiscal year.
But according to mid-year budget figures, the authority had already spent $25,178,694 in the first half of the 2025/2026 fiscal year. It was budgeted $29 million for the entire 2025/2026 fiscal year.
Sands said he doesn’t expect an update from the authority before the election on May 12.
“No, they have no record,” Sands said.
“They’re going to run on public relations promises and groundbreakings.
“Plenty of ground to break on the country and plenty of contracts to sign.”
Under the Minnis administration, the authority spent a total of $84,288,232 over four years in office.
As was reported, the authority’s spending increased significantly to $25,900,000 in 2019/2020, nearly double the $13,850,000 spent the previous year.
In the 2020/2021 fiscal year, the authority spent even more — $28,904,232.
