Bahamas News
PM Davis Tables National Food Distribution Audit Report
#TheBahamas, May 18, 2022 – During a Communication in the House of Assembly, by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis, tabling an Audit
Report into the operations of the National Food Distribution Task Force and the National Food Distribution Programme, on May 16, 2022, he said that his Government had found it “consistently difficult to obtain genuine answers”, about operations.
“In the case of the Food Programme, requests for credible documentation of how $53 million was spent have not
been answered,” Prime Minister Davis said. “To be clear, documents have been provided, but they are not documents that answer the most important questions posed.”
He continued: “To make an analogy, if someone asks, ‘How much did your car cost?’, and the car owner answers, ‘My car is blue’, an answer of sorts has been provided, but not one of great relevance to the questioner.
“In the case of the Food Programme, some documents have been proffered up, but they do not provide answers to the Bahamian people’s questions.”
Prime Minister Davis said that the 138-page Audit Report “makes for startling reading”.
“In the General Findings of the Audit Report, 18 categories of major deficiencies were noted,” he said. “These ranged from a widespread lack of record-keeping, and widespread inconsistences relating to the sums of money handled, to a complete absence of minutes being kept of meetings, agreements and actions.”
“In other words, although tens of millions of the Bahamian people’s dollars were being spent, not even the most basic safeguards were in place,” he added. “A government that speechified about transparency at great length and at every opportunity did not conduct even the most basic oversight of a major government initiative.”
Prime Minister Davis said that the audit was astounding in documenting “the failures of the government” in establishing reporting and monitoring protocols, or internal controls. He noted that the Task Force could not provide the auditors with information that should have already been completed and readily available.
“Even in the instances where information was provided, only aggregate totals were offered, with none of the supporting documents that would be critical to corroborate the figures,” he said. “There’s no back-up provided: no contracts, no cheques, no receipts and no bank statements to support the information. No evidence, in other words.”
“It is noteworthy, too, that some organisations concerned have still refused to provide any information whatsoever,” he added.
Prime Minister Davis pointed out that, given the sums of money involved, “the deficiencies are breath-taking”.
“Public Officers did not have oversight of the expenditure of funds,” he said. “Expenditure of millions of dollars remains unexplained and undocumented.
“No audited financial statements have been provided, so information provided by the NGOs cannot be confirmed.”
He added: “Information Dashboards presented by the Task Force did not reconcile to the information provided by NGOs. So, for example, just to highlight the point, if the
Task Force is saying that they gave an NGO $100,000, and the NGO is saying they only received $80,000, what’s happened to the difference?”
“In fact, numerous instances have been identified when the NGOs concerned did not account for the total amount funds received from the Government,” Prime Minister Davis continued. “As I said in the Mid-Year Budget, we uncovered $2 million that was sitting in an NGO’s account. I am happy to say that money was then recovered for the Bahamian taxpayer. Are there millions more sitting idle in other accounts?”
Prime Minister Davis noted that there was no consistent system of recordkeeping at the Task Force or NGO level; and it was simply not credible to believe that from May 2020 to October 2021, they were too busy to keep proper records.
“And some of the records which were kept, raise even bigger questions. Why were such exorbitant fees paid for some services?” he added.
Prime Minister Davis gave the example of one restaurant being paid $6 per box for the delivery of each food parcel. That, he noted, amounted to approximately $50,000 per month.
“Why did they pay $6 to deliver a single parcel of corned-beef, flour, rice and the other very basic items they delivered to families in need?” he said. “The delivery cost would have been more than the food itself.
“And to this day, despite numerous requests, two NGOs have still not provided any information at all, and combined, they received more than $10 million.
“$10 million of the Bahamian people’s money, has simply vanished.”
Prime Minister Davis also called on those with knowledge of the underlying facts to come forward. Those who had failed to provide answers and evidence still have an opportunity – and an obligation – to do so, he added.
“We do not prejudge the circumstances we have uncovered,” he said. “We cannot say definitively whether we are looking at jaw-dropping incompetence … or something considerably worse.
“For now, I encourage the Bahamian people to read the Audit Report for themselves.”
Release: BIS
PHOTO CAPTION: Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis speaks during a Communication in the House of Assembly, tabling an Audit Report into the operations of the National Food Distribution Task Force and the National Food Distribution Programme, on May 16, 2022.
(BIS Photos/Ulric Woodside)
Bahamas News
The Government Signs Power Purchase Agreements to Help Transform Power Generation Across the Family Islands
By Llonella Gilbert
Bahamas Information Services
NASSAU, The Bahamas — During a press conference at the Office of The Prime Minister on Sunday, June 1, 2025, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis announced the signing of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with two Bahamian partners who will help to transform power generation across the Family Islands.
The Prime Minister said, “We have made incredible progress in such a short amount of time. When we took office in 2021, we encountered a power grid and power generation system on life support.”
He explained that Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) was drowning in over half a billion dollars of debt, plus another $100 million in
unfunded pension obligations. The Prime Minister noted that at the same time, the country’s energy infrastructure required $500 million in critical upgrades to prevent catastrophic failure. He said, “In New Providence, 60 percent of power generation equipment needed replacement, while our Family Islands were in even worse shape, with 80 percent of equipment requiring replacement within five years.
“For Bahamian families, our energy failures caused unnecessary hardship for a population that was still staggering from the effects of Hurricane Dorian, COVID-19, a deflated economy, and crippling inflation.”
The Prime Minister said the Government is committed to taking on these challenges head-on, with energy reform near the top of its list of priorities as one of the most meaningful ways to lower costs for families and local businesses.
“Ultimately, we see energy reform as a catalyst for economic empowerment and growth for all Bahamians.”
He added, “Our vision extended to every island, not just New Providence, not just the major economic and population centres, but to every island where Bahamians live, work, and raise their families.”
The Prime Minister noted that it is an ambitious undertaking requiring the Government to take on multiple Bahamian partners to deliver on its promise of widespread change.
“The PPAs we are signing today represent our unwavering commitment to keeping that promise.
“These partnerships will bring modern, reliable, affordable electricity to islands that have, for too long, endured aging infrastructure, frequent outages, and exorbitant costs.”
He explained that through these agreements, the Government will establish solar microgrids combined with advanced LNG and multigas systems across nine different areas in the Family Islands.
“This hybrid approach represents the perfect balance for our archipelago. We are harnessing our abundant sunshine while introducing cleaner fuels to ensure that our power needs are met, regardless of what the weather looks like.”
The Prime Minister said, “All of our partners are Bahamian-owned enterprises with the resources to expedite development to ensure that our people will benefit from these changes as soon as possible.
“In fact, each one of the PPAs we have signed this year will be initiated before year’s end and will be completed in 2026.”
He said among the companies the Government is partnering with is Family Island Microgrid Co., which will develop and operate new energy systems on five islands: Harbour Island, Bimini, Moore’s Island, Farmer’s Cay, Black Point and Staniel Cay in the Exumas. These communities will soon benefit from efficient multi-gas generation.
The Prime Minister said the second partnership is with RenugenPro Co. Ltd. RenugenPro who will bring an energy revolution to San Salvador, Long Island, and Cat Island, with solar, battery energy storage and LNG facilities.
“These islands, each with their own unique energy challenges, will soon enjoy reliable, affordable electricity that should be the right of every Bahamian citizen. The impact of these changes will be felt within months, not years.”
He explained that as large-scale solar and hybrid facilities spring up, Bahamians will benefit immediately from these comprehensive energy
reforms. The Prime Minister said by this time next year, Bahamians across 14 islands will experience the benefits of modern, reliable, affordable electricity. He added that by 2030, 32 per cent of the nation’s electricity needs will be met by solar power – surpassing the global target of 30 per cent.
“Finally, after years of falling behind in the adoption of renewable energy, we will lead the way using the power of the sun in this new energy era:
“No more sky-high electricity bills at the end of each month.
“No more sweating in the dark at night because of power failures and load shedding.”
The Prime Minister said, “No more appliances shorting out and food going bad because the power went off for far too long. That is the energy future we are striving for.”
(OPM Photos/Bradisha Fraser)
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