Brown's 'cavalier attitude to taxpayer funds' attacked by Shadow Minister
by Clare O'Connor
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Shadow Minister Michael Dunkley
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THE Shadow Minister for Tourism has hit out at the Government's relationship with US ad agency GlobalHue (see accompanying story) following this week's Special Report by the Auditor General, saying the approximate $1.8-million overpayment is indicative of the Tourism Minister's "cavalier attitude to taxpayer funds".
Michael Dunkley (pictured)was also critical of Wednesday's news that the Department of Tourism is undertaking its own audit of broadcast media spending on the heels of the Auditor General's Report. The Department of Tourism announced it would follow up with an "independent value for money audit", which a Tourism spokesperson yesterday confirmed was in fact being "conducted by internal resources" within the Department.
Mr. Dunkley said no audit could be deemed "independent" if it was conducted by the Department itself.
He added that the Minister of Tourism and Premier Ewart Brown's "close personal relationship" with the head of GlobalHue was troubling. Don Coleman, the agency chief, is a friend of Dr. Brown's who last year made headlines when he gave the Premier a ride to Washington, DC on his private jet.
"The thing that troubles me and my colleagues is that the principals have a close personal relationship getting in the way of accountability," Mr. Dunkley said. "They're playing with someone else's cash. The Premier has a cavalier attitude to taxpayer funds; Tourism is his personal piggybank. It is not acceptable."
The Department of Tourism told the Mid-Ocean News yesterday that it undertook an annual review of GlobalHue's retainer in January 2009, alongside a review of PR capabilities.
Mr. Dunkley said he was "cynical" about any type of review, and that he believes GlobalHue will remain the advertising agency of record no matter what the Auditor General finds.
He also took issue with Dr. Brown's condemnation of the Auditor General for questioning a $440,000 severance package awarded to a New York Tourism Office employee amid mass redundancies.
Mr. Dunkley said he doesn't believe the Tourism Minister's assertion that the $440,000 was in line with a pension plan for overseas employees.
"I don't buy it," he said. "$440,000 for four months' salary, health and pension? It seems impossible. I believe this person's silence was purchased at the taxpayers' expense. In the real world, heads would roll for this. It seems like a daily practice with the Premier: 'it's my way or the highway'. This is not the Premier's personal life. There is accountability."
