Michael Weeks, Minister of Social Development & SportsSeven months after his appointment, the minister with responsibility for government’s million-dollar-a-week Financial Assistance (FA) programme has disclosed that Bermuda’s biggest grocery store chain was paid $12M taxpayer dollars, exclusively in guaranteed income with no constraints on what they charge
you for food.
In another exclusive news series, Bermuda Real sat down with Minister Michael Weeks, who replaced MP Zane DeSilva, following his resignation, shortly after the appointment of the Working Group on FA Reform.
In part one of this series, Mr Weeks disclosed that since April 2001, when “The MarketPlace partnered with Financial Assistance and Lindo’s Family Foods since February 2018”, the Department of Financial Assistance (DFA) “spent approximately $4M at The MarketPlace on groceries for clients during each of the fiscal years 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18”.
“DFA spent just over $2M on groceries for clients at The MarketPlace from April 2018 to present,” said Minister Weeks.
“DFA spent approximately $300K at Lindo’s Family Foods on groceries for clients from April 2018 to present.”
Asked “if any interest has been expressed by other grocery store outlets, or whether or the government would take a look at spreading the public purse further across the board”, the Minister confirmed that to date, as far as he was aware, no one has asked to get on board.
“No other vendors have asked to participate in our food programme,” said Mr Weeks.
“Further, there have been no formal queries from clients to suggest that they require additional options.”
Now that the first-ever set of recommendations by the new FA Reform Working Group’s report is due in November, he said: “The Ministry is considering how best to expand the choices that FA clients have.
“Recognizing that some grocery stores are more expensive than others,” he said.
“DFA may actively seek to determine whether there is any interest on the part of other grocery stores.”
To be clear, Bermuda Real asked: “Shouldn’t it be that the POLICY should be changed to be automatically open to say HUNTS and others NOT JUST The MarketPlace where FA clients have the option of shopping at Price Rite?”
Mr Weeks replied: “Any grocery store can contact FA to express an interest. Financial Assistance will consider all options for our clients.”
But up until recently, The MarketPlace has been paid guaranteed income with virtually no constraints, no demands, no real standard procedures on what they charge for food in this island.
This journalist has always questioned why a single lemon costs $1.29 in the largest grocery store chain in Bermuda. And why are the same onions consistently cheaper than Arnold’s, a much smaller chain of grocery stores?
Why are potatoes always cheaper at Arnold’s than they are at that other chain of stores?
Why does a half a pound of butter cost $4 – what’s it going to be come Christmas time – $10 a pound? WHY?
So, Bermuda Real asked People’s Campaign Advocate, the Reverend Nicholas Tweed, who responded as a member of Bermuda’s clergy.
Asked for his reaction to millions being paid out of the public purse to the largest chain of grocery stores in Bermuda with no demands, Rev Tweed said it was “evident that the Government has paid out since 2015, in excess of $10M through a Financial Assistance partnered programme, that has in effect guaranteed income to The MarketPlace”.
“This pales in comparison to a meagerly $300K at Lindo’s Family Foods,” said Rev Tweed.
Rev Nicholas Tweed, St Paul AME Church“The Government has in effect aided and abetted the establishment of a monopoly that privileges one business in particular, over all other rivals and guarantees them ‘Millions’ of dollars in income, without requiring anything in return, such as constraints on costs to customers.”
Bermuda Real asked both the Minister and Rev Tweed whether “in the interest of fairness and equity, the Government would take steps to ensure that all businesses have an equal opportunity to participate in these programmes”.
Rev Tweed, said he was hopeful that: “In an environment that has been historically and continues to be discriminatory, the Government would insist that participation in the DFA partnered programmes are mandated so that no single business interest receives preferential treatment.”
He also remains hopeful that: “The Government would take the initiative to include businesses – especially Black businesses – that have historically been overlooked, or left out of participation in such programmes.”
Under then Minister Zane DeSilva, the FA Reform Working Group held their first meeting in November 2017.
