Opposition Deputy Leader Michael Dunkley called for the resignation of Public Funds Investment Committee member Calvin Smith over the weekend after Mr. Smith declared it was OK for the PLP to ?tap? money managers for funds.

Mr. Dunkley also chafed at the silence from Government on the allegations of pay to play surrounding the public pension funds, Government?s pension fund consultant Tina Poitevien, and Deputy Premier Ewart Brown, saying Bermudians have been continually sold out by the PLP Government.

?Then,? he added, ?when questioned, (the Government) will use any of the following options to avoid the truth: act like it never happened, not return calls from the press, deny that it ever happened, play the race card, or attack personally the messenger or someone in the Opposition. That is the sum total of the leadership that is too often provided by the PLP.?

Mr. Dunkley also responded to what he termed were ?personal attacks? on him by Mr. Smith in an article which ran in Friday?s Mid-Ocean News, saying there was no link between the pension scandal and the case of two Dunkley?s Dairy employees who were found guilty of importing marijuana in a Dairy container.

In the Mid-Ocean News article, Mr. Smith defended Dr. Brown against allegations that a luncheon arranged by Government?s pension fund consultant to raise money for Dr. Brown?s personal election campaign was an example of ?pay to play?.

Guests invited to the 2002 luncheon allegedly included current and potential money managers of the Bermuda public pension funds.

?There was no fact that (Dr. Brown) had that lunch to help those guys get into the Government (pension fund),? Mr. Smith was quoted in the article as saying. He added: ?You have to raise the money where you can.?

When attempting to draw the parallel between Dr. Brown and the Dunkley?s Dairy case, he said: ?Dunkley said he knew nothing about it, and I believe that, because the man wouldn?t miss $30,000 taken off his checking account. Why isn?t there a steady splurge of b******t in the press about what Dunkley did??

However on the weekend Mr. Dunkley said he found Mr. Smith?s attempt ?laughable?.

In a Letter to the Editor he wrote: ?Two people have been convicted and sentenced for this offence and I and other employees at Dunkley?s worked closely with the Police to ensure those involved were apprehended. Perhaps Mr. Smith can explain to me what more I could have done??

As for the $30,000 comment, Mr. Dunkley replied: ?While he is entitled to his opinion, nothing could be further from the truth.

?Unlike the PLP Government, I keep a close eye on my finances and if he would call me I am more than happy to explain how it is done.?

The collective silence from the Premier, Dr. Brown, and Finance Minister Paula Cox on the pay to play allegations left Mr. Dunkley demanding to know when a public report on the matter will be provided.

As for Mr. Smith: ?What makes Mr. Smith?s comments even more disturbing is that he is one of the five members of the PFIC and thus you would expect him to be aghast upon learning details of the ?pay to play? scheme. Sadly, Mr. Smith tries to offer weak excuses for the behaviour of those involved. Even worse, he has consistently failed to disclose his own membership on the PFIC.

?It is obvious to many that the actions by the Government to date in connection with this scandal have been drastically short of what is required.

?Clearly the ?leave of absence? imposed on the chairman of the PFIC Mr. Calvin White is a failed attempt by the Minister of Finance to quiet the raging public concern over this matter while at the same time not upsetting the hard core support of the PLP.

?Given the comments of Mr. Smith he should be immediately removed from his position on the PFIC by Finance Minister Paula Cox.

?It is obvious that Mr. Smith and his colleagues have no regard for the prudent management of public funds but are all too willing to use their positions of power and influence to support unethical ?pay to play? activities. This attitude and behaviour must not be accepted or tolerated.?

The Ministry of Finance has stated that an independent review of the pension fund situation is being conducted.

Last week Assistant Financial Secretary Anthony Manders stated: ?Since these allegations were first reported we have received responses to our enquiries and request for further and better particulars on the matter.

?The information collected will be referred on and included in the data and resource packet that is being referred onto the independent reviewer.?

Mr. Manders continued: ?To this end we will not be commenting further on information that may be put in the public domain as it is our view that this compromises the process of an independent governance review.

?We have been advised by the independent consultant that no public mention of their acceptance be made at this time. However, a press statement will be made eventually.

?At this point, given a request for confidentiality by the service provider, we are respecting this request and will not disclose who this independent reviewer is, but confirm it is a totally independent entity.?

It is not yet known when the review will be completed. Both Dr. Brown and Ms Poitevien have ceased to comment on the allegations pending potential legal action.