MINISTER OF Local Government, Community Development and Sport, Portia Simpson Miller, was grilled by Opposition parliamentarians on the recent controversy surrounding the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) in the wee hours of Friday <
morning.The Opposition members of Parliament's Standing Finance Committee aggressively sought information on reports of a $200
million overexpenditure, bad
management and corruption within the Alston Stewart-led agency.
But Mrs. Simpson Miller gave few answers, saying that she preferred to await the results of the investigations by the offices of the contractor-general and the auditor-general.
"I think that this is a serious matter and it should not be used as a political football," she said while promising that the findings of the investigations would be made public.
Mrs. Simpson Miller also stressed that she had decided independently of the Cabinet to request the investigations after reports were made to her on
concerns about the activities within the NSWMA.
But Opposition members, including Audley Shaw and Pearnel Charles, the respective Opposition spokesmen on finance and local government, continued to push the matter.
The Opposition claimed that Mrs. Simpson Miller should be able to answer some of their
questions as she was flanked by Mr. Stewart, the NSWA executive chairman.
Mr. Stewart, however, appeared to be of little help to Mrs. Simpson Miller, as he scowled and said nothing.
The pointed questioning led Deputy House Leader, Derrick Kellier, to state that the questions were not in order as the
committee was intended to
examine the budget, and not investigate the agency.
