UBP response

Kim Swan questioned Paula Cox’s role as Finance Minister in relation to over-budget capital projects, such as the TCD emissions testing plant and new cruise ship pier at Dockyard.

Mr. Swan said: “Ms Cox certainly has her work cut out for her as Bermuda is clearly going in the wrong direction. I wish I could be more optimistic, but I don’t see this as the real change that Bermuda desperately needs. Unfortunately, I see Ms Cox as a continuation of the same leadership and the same government that got us into this mess in the first place, particularly the financial mess we find ourselves in.

“It was Ms Cox who allowed the debt to quadruple since 2005 and who was responsible as Finance Minister for the uncontrolled spending and two deficit years in a row. 

“And where was Ms Cox when the TCD Emission, Port Royal Golf Course and the cruise ship pier at Dockyard projects were allowed to double or even triple in price? Why didn’t our Finance Minister exercise her constitutional power so as to prevent the lack of tendering and the conflicts of interest that the Auditor General has recently disclosed?”

Mr. Swan added: “I’m very concerned because we now must pin our hopes on the same individual who helped to create the serious problems, to effectively solve them. This country and our community need real change, not just more of the same...”