PNP not happy with change to bush-clearing programme

The Parliamentary Opposition is insisting it's not enough for the Andrew Holness administration to simply announce a change to the controversial $600 million bush-clearing programme and move on.

The declaration came from Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives Phillip Paulwell after Prime Minister Holness provided an update on the programme in Parliament yesterday.

Holness said $400 million have been allocated by the Ministry of Finance to fund the programme.

READ: Millions for more bush-clearing

He said $219 million have already been expended and the remaining $180 million will be used exclusively to deal with the island’s drainage network.

Holness said this will be done in accordance with the strategic template of priorities determined by the National Works Agency (NWA), but announced a key modification that was aimed at appeasing Opposition MPs.

However, speaking to The Gleaner/Power106 News Centre last evening, Paulwell insisted that was not enough.

He wants the Government to account for the $219 million already spent on the programme.