“Sands ‘deviated’ from contract procedure – Minister denies the was ‘out to get’ Frank Smith” – The Nassau Guardian – Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Excerpt from this article; “Health Minister Dr. Duane Sands admitted yesterday on the stand that he ‘deviated’ from normal procedure when he approved the award of a 1.8 million cleaning contract to Magic Touch Company which is owned by Barbara Hanna.

Sands made the admission during cross examination in the briery and extortion trail of former Public Hospital Authority (PHA) Chairman Frank Smith.

Hanna has alleged that Smith demanded and received $60,000 from her, from 2016 to 2017; after he allegedly helped her company win a contract to clean the Critical Block of Princess Margaret Hospital.

Smith has denied the charges.

It was previously revealed in court that Hanna was awarded a second contract in 2017, valued at $1.8 million, three months after Smith was charged.

The contract was awarded, according to the minutes from the PHA board, without approval from the board.  The board did approve it later.

Last Tuesday, it was noted that Sands approved the second contract for Hanna following a recommendation from PHA’s tender analysis committee and a legal opinion from the Attorney General.

During his testimony last week, Sands said Hanna who donated $300 to his election campaign to 2016, alleged she was making monthly cash payments of $5,000 to Smith and that she asked for help.  Sands said he told Hanna to go to the police.”

What I have found amazing about the way in which this trail has unfolded is the manner in which the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has been able to shift the focus of this case from the allegations of bribery and extortion by former PHA Chairman Frank Smith to one where we now have Dr. Duane Sands, the present Minister of Health services being “bought” for the sum of three hundred dollars [$300].

So a donation of $300 was made during the he lead up to the last general election and from this we are being asked to connect the following dots; one, that Dr. Sands had foreknowledge that he would win the Elizabeth seat, that the Free National Movement (FNM) would win the general election and that he would be made Minister of Health because only with these three things happening would he ever have the opportunity to ‘go after’ Frank Smith.

Then we look at this $300 dollars that the minister is said to have sacrificed his political and medical career for, we wonder what about the money that brought this case about in the first place, the $600,000 [six hundred thousand dollars], a quick look through Ms. Wilson’s financials would easily prove this but then there has been an objection by the defense to the introduction of Hanna’s banking information, imagine that.

But then there is this lie that the health minister has been caught in right?

While the Dr. Sands admits to deviating from contract procedure, I ask two questions;

1. Did he have the authority to ‘deviate’ from contract procedure? And
2. Did he do anything illegal when he did, given the circumstances? The circumstance as explained by him but which has been totally glossed over was the immediate need for someone to clean the hospital.

At this point, the major issue is that Dr. Sands has proven to be a horrible witness, it is that simple and there are two things at play here.  The allegations of extortion and bribery by Frank Smith of Barbara Hanna and Dr. Sands deviating from contract procedure; one of these issues has been answered with a plausible explanation while the other has been answered by attempting to make this deviation more nefarious that it is really is and to make it seem more salacious than the claim of bribery and extortion.

The funny thing about the entire situation is that only the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) would even consider being brought for $300 because this is something that they would do, as it is their nature.

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