Opposition Senator Fred Mitchell  has roundly criticized  the appointment of former BAIC Chairman Michael Foulkes as a Parliamentary  Secretary.

The PLP Chairman reiterated that the Prime Minister complained about government spending and promised to cut back.

“We know that the government reduced the budget at the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, cutting back on social assistance to the most needy and vulnerable among us and in particular, the cancellation of the R.I.S.E. food assistance program and the uniform assistance to children living in poverty.”

He added that the addition of another politician does not add value to the Ministry, but the Opposition asks, what value does another politician bring to that Ministry.

“The social safety net was pulled from under thousands of minimum wage workers who were released from the public service in a downsizing exercise.

“There still remains much suffering and neglect in the urban areas,  therefore the sensible course of action would be an expansion in the delivery of social services to the benefit of the elderly, the working poor and unemployed,” said Mr. Mitchell.

“While cutting back on social assistance because of budgeting reasons, the Prime Minister conveniently found the money to line the pockets of and provide comfort for yet another political crony with a cushy job. 

“This sends the wrong public message given the misery index among thousands of Bahamian families,” Senator Mitchell added.

He  said  this recent appointment is a glaring example of the mixed priorities that the out of touch government is becoming notorious for, should be revisited.

This position  of Parliamentary Secretary  was left vacant since the firing of Golden Isle MP Vaughn Miller last year.

Replacing Mr. Foulkes  as BAIC Chairman is Gregory Collie who was  serving as Deputy Chairman.