Central Grand Bahama Member of Parliament (MP) Neko Grant wants the deputy prime minister to stop playing the blame game when it comes to his ministry.

The Free National Movement (FNM) parliamentarian, in a press statement yesterday, expressed his disappointment in Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis after he threw the blame of problems at the Ministry of Works on the FNM.

Last week during his contribution in parliament, the deputy prime minister, who is also the minister of works, advised house members that leaks had been detected on a number of service laterals installed on existing water mains in several locations on New Providence.

Mr. Grant, who is the former minister of works, said Mr. Davis blew his opportunity to display accountability and resorted to the typical PLP government game of “shirk responsibility and blame the FNM for everything.”

“As Minister Davis is already realizing, his strategy of blame the FNM for everything is a dangerous road for any minister to take,” he said.

“Ministers are responsible for their personal acts and those of their departments. As a general rule, FNM ministers have rarely shied away from this perpetual feature of cabinet government.”

“But Minister Davis’ approach appears to be ill-advised because as much as he tries to distance himself, he is the titular head of a very technical ministry and as a minister he will always have to rely on the technical advice given to him. It is difficult to understand why he believes that this principle was different under the FNM Government.”

The FNM shadow minister for works added that at one point during Mr. Davis’ contribution, he admitted that there could be no one to blame for the matter.

“Professions within the engineering firm Mott MacDonald were the technical advisors to the government and Ministry of Public Works,” he said.

“Mott MacDonald and the technical professionals within the ministry would have advised the government on specifications for the elbows used on the project. At first look it would seem that both individually and collectively that pair of technical professionals have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Their explanations are not yet in the public domain, but at first look it appeared as if the minister bought the explanations of one side, Mott MacDonald’s, and their briefing paper hook line and sinker while throwing the Ministry of Works professionals under the bus.”

Mr. Grant reminded Mr. Davis that the same team he [Mr. Grant] left behind as minister of works before the FNM was voted out last year, is the same team he [Mr. Davis] now has to work with.

The Central Grand Bahama MP also said that Mr. Davis’ contributions were incomplete and as the FNM’s shadow minister, he plans on giving details to the gaps in this week’s budget debate.