Prime Minister Gaston Browne said while he accepts that there were procedural violations in the procurement of thirty motor vehicles from local dealerships, there was no illegality involved in the matter.
Speaking during the wrap up of the debate on the National Budget 2026 on Monday, PM Browne, said the opposition has been making wild assumptions and accusations regarding the matter that were not grounded in the truth or to reality.
He noted that the opposition members of the House raised the issue of what they refer to as ‘vehicle-gate’ with nothing but unsubstantiated claims and mis-information.
“They brought the ‘vehicle-gate’ fabrication into this honourable House, trying to impugn the character of the member for St. John’s Rural East. It is well-known within the society that there is no $15 million loss by the government. There is no $200 million loss by the government; it is all a fabrication. The facts are, there was an excess of vehicles that was purchased, about 30 cars, and those vehicles were returned to the dealers. Every year we do a set off of vehicles that we receive against taxes due. So it means therefore, when the set off is done at the end of the year, those thirty vehicles will not be paid for; in other words, the government would not have lost a cent,” he explained.
PM Browne further explained that the government accepts responsibility for the matter as well as the fact that there were procedural violations, but not criminality.
“I want to make the distinction between procedural violations and illegality. An illegality is when you do something against the law. There is nothing stopping those individuals from purchasing vehicles; there’s nothing stopping them from processing the documentation. What was required for completeness and control purposes, was a Cabinet decision. That’s what was missing,” he emphasized.
According to the prime minister the dealers were previously informed that there were to be no vehicle purchases without an accompanying Cabinet decision.
“It was that policy violation that caused us to return the vehicles. So the matter is fully settled,” he declared. He further emphasized that there is no evidence, direct or indirect, to suggest that the member for Rural East was involved in any way as this was a matter for the procurement committee. “As a member of my household, she is barred from getting involved in any form of contracting or procurements. This is a control mechanism that my administration has put in place as part of the governance framework,” he indicated.
