PNP spent $150 million on NIDS, says Holness

 The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) spent US$1.26 million ($150 million) on the National Identification and Registration System (NIDS) project between 2011 and 2016, although it did not bring a bill for tabling in the parliament during the period when it formed the government.

That was revealed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Tuesday as he answered questions posed by Julian Robinson, the Opposition Shadow Minister for Science and Technology during an intense question and answer session during which Holness constantly accused the opposition of hypocrisy on its approach to the NIDS.

For their part, opposition members, in turn, accused Holness of arrogance.

They told him that it was that arrogance, and his refusal to listen, that resulted in the Constitutional Court striking down the NIDS in a landmark ruling in April, deeming the legislation unconstitutional. That court challenge was brought by Robinson on behalf of the PNP.

On Tuesday, the prime minister sought to expose what he described as “untruths and hypocrisy” on the part of the Opposition.

“In answering the questions asked, it is absolutely important that the country be aware that between 2011 and 2016 the (then) government of Jamaica spent US$1.26 million ($150 million) on the NIDS project,” Holness revealed.



Morais Guy

That disclosure was met with silence from the opposition benches. Later in the proceedings, Central St Mary Member of Parliament, Dr Morais Guy, asked the prime minister to quantify the spending and the period during which it was spent. Guy pointed out that there was a general election in December 2011 and another in February 2016, that the PNP lost.

Of the amount spent by the PNP, US$95,000 was on advertising.

Said Holness: “They printed t-shirts; they developed advertising plans (but) none of that was ever used. We still have the t-shirts there (they) can’t be used.”

“But that is not it,” the prime minister continued. “They spent on consultants, US$641,000. As I said, there is a certain level of hypocrisy and untruth on that side about the NIDS process.” That statement was met with sustained applause and desk-thumping from government members.

Meanwhile, Holness revealed that his government spent a total of US$1.358 million or two per cent of the US$68 million NIDS project loan between 2017 and 2019.

He said no money was spent on advisers or permanent staff; nearly US$18,000 was spent on consultants, while temporary project staff were paid US$496,000.

 

 

In terms of advertising, public relations and communications, US$496,000 has been spent so far, while the purchase of equipment and technology used up US$286,000 of the budget. And Holness said no money was spent on data collection and no data has been collected.

Additionally, the prime minister asserted that the government was not being irresponsible when it entered into a US$31 million contract with a consortium to provide supplies for the NIDS.

Rather, he said the government entered into the contract with the necessary provisions that would allow it, “should there be a ruling adverse to our expectations, to exit the contract without obligations.”

“That is not strange or unheard of, and the contracting party would also have understood that there could be an adverse ruling,” Holness stated. He insisted that there was no great exposure to the government. Nonetheless, Robinson persisted in asking: “Can the prime minister give this House and the public an assurance that the taxpayers of this country will not have to bear any cost as a result of the contract that was entered into prior to the court ruling and that we will not be held with a liability as a result of providers mobilising?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holness repeated his answer that the contract was not fully executed and that the government was still in the process of reviewing the performance and security bonds presented by the consortium.

In the meantime, the prime minister said that while the government respects, and was reviewing the court ruling, “it was still the intention of the government to come back to the people of Jamaica with the appropriate legislation that meets the parameters set by the court.”

He said the government was not going to waste time and resources. “We have arranged our business such that the project, yes we will be delayed, but we will move with speed and alacrity to have it done