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Bahamas row over trip to Bermuda rumbles on

Controversial: Philip Davis, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, front left, with David Burt, the Premier, front right, and members of their governments during Mr Davis’ trip to Bermuda last October (Photograph supplied)

The Prime Minister of the Bahamas is still in hot water over a trip he made to Bermuda – after failing to provide receipts for the visit.

Philip Davis, accompanied by a large entourage, spent two days on the island last October at the invitation of David Burt. Mr Davis was the guest speaker at the Progressive Labour Party’s annual conference.

But a row erupted after the opposition Free National Movement party claimed that the Bahamian taxpayer had been billed for the junket.

Mr Davis has since said he understood that the trip cost almost $60,000 – and that the money was paid back to the public treasury from the coffers of his Progressive Labour Party.

But the Prime Minister has failed to produce any receipts for the trip, prompting the opposition to claim that the figure cannot be believed

According to an article in The Tribune newspaper, Michael Pintard, leader of the Free National Movement, said: “In the absence of us seeing the actual list of expenses, which would include among other things, airfare, ground transportation, food, per diem, and any other incidentals, we have no way of knowing if the figure provided to the public in the press conference is true, we have no way of knowing that’s true.

“We have not seen any legislation that permits them to cause a public servant to release funds from any government department to make this trip possible,

“So what allows this loan to be repaid? Has the Auditor-General been invited in to take a look at this matter? And what are the findings of the Auditor-General? And essentially, they have broken the law, who is paying the price of the Prime Minister,” Mr Pintard said.

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Published January 18, 2023 at 8:05 am (Updated January 18, 2023 at 8:05 am)

Bahamas row over trip to Bermuda rumbles on

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