Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Deputy Leader Buscheme Armbrister yesterday expressed concerns after learning that the newly appointed governor general will be renting a home on the taxpayer’s dime.
Mr. Armbrister said although the Minnis administration does not fail to remind the people that the cupboard is bare, they continue to spend Bahamian taxpayer funds like “drunken sailors”.
He said, “In this most recent budget, we saw an increase in food and travel expenses for this administration, while the masses struggle to make ends meet. Now we learn that the government will spend $9,000 per month to house the country’s newest governor general.”
He added, “First of all, the DNA fails to see the need for the appointment of another governor general. For a nation that is only 46 years old in political independence, we’ve already had 10 governor generals. Our record in this regard can be attributed mainly to the handing out of political favors by the Free National Movement and Progressive Liberal Party to loyal party supporters.”
His Excellency Cornelius A. Smith was recently appointed as the 10th governor general of The Bahamas.
This is a move that Mr. Armbrister said his party saw no need for, as the reason for his appointment “is unclear and cannot be justified other than being a political payback for his loyalty to Prime Minister Minnis and the Free National Movement.”
He added that for a nation that is only 46-years-old in political independence, The Bahamas already had 10 governor generals, resulting in the public paying fixed sums for those that are still living.
The total cost to taxpayers is estimated at $350,000 per annum.
While he thanked former governor generals for their stellar contribution to the country, he said this cycle of appointing “our people” to various posts is costly and shows political immaturity.
“Why must the Bahamian people be saddled with close to $150,000 for one governor general whose duties are merely ceremonial? Didn’t the prime minister know that the quarters at Government House were unsuitable?” he asked.
He said there is evidence to suggest that Dame Marguerite Pindling was not executing her duties well as the governor general, in fact, she was “most loved and highly praised”.
