“We Purchase Panades, We Don’t Make Panades” – FinSec, Joseph Waight

Joseph Waight

On the heels of an interview with Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay, the question of government’s fiscal prudence was also put to Financial Secretary Joseph Waight.  Here’s how he responded.

Reporter

“The criticism is that you all were running the government’s finances like one would a panades shop.  Your response?”

Joseph Waight, Financial Secretary

“I purchase panades, we don’t make panades in the Ministry of Finance.  And look, at no time has there been any suggestion or hint of misappropriation or misuse of the money, you know.  It’s just how the money was authorized.  Government needs authorizations from time to time.  Urgent and unanticipated things come up and we have to allocate for it.”

Reporter

“FinSec, one of the big criticisms against you in this case is that under your watch the government misplaced or misspent or made no accounting for a hundred million dollars.  What’s your response to that?”

Joseph Waight

“It didn’t go to parliament yet, but the hundred million dollars is not misplaced.  It’s not misspent.  When we go to parliament in a few weeks time we will detail it exactly.  It wasn’t misappropriated; it didn’t go to parliament before.”