Michael Foulkes MP Is Demoted To Parliamentary Secretary
This is his third job in this Government He treated people meanly and cruelly at BAIC. He couldn’t get along with his Minister Michael Pintard so they sent him packing to be Parliamentary Secretary in Social Services at a salary 5,000 dollars less per year. Here is what the PLP thought of it:
Statement by Senator Fred Mitchell
On the appointment of Michael Foulkes
For Immediate Release
31st January 2019
With an already oversized and ineffective political directorate presiding over the public service, the Prime Minister has seen fit to add yet another layer of bureaucracy with the appointment of former BAIC Chairman, Michael Foulkes as Parliamentary Secretary, after complaining about and promising to cut government spending.
Further, 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.
On the face of it, 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.
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.
This appointment, a glaring example of the mixed priorities this tone deaf and out of touch government is becoming notorious for, should be revisited.
End.