A government brochure full of policy information that was already publicly available was deemed by the Opposition to be “propaganda”.

Doug DeCouto, a One Bermuda Alliance senator, added that public funds should not be spent on producing political adverts.

A government spokeswoman said it cost $4,700 to print the leaflet – Five Years of Working For You, which was delivered to households this week.

She earlier announced that a “household mailer” provided the public “with an update of the programmes, policies and initiatives that have been undertaken and completed over the last five years”.

The spokeswoman added: “The expansive overview provides a progress report on several areas on which the Government has delivered, including healthcare, education, youth, seniors, childcare, energy reform, environmental protection and sustainability, Covid relief, economic stimulus, and economic recovery.”

Dr DeCouto said this week: “We clearly view this as propaganda, as it is advertising the political behalf of the Government.”

Dozens of items were listed in the leaflet under headings such as “addressing the cost of living”, “improving education”, “rebuilding our tourism industry” and “responsible governing”.

The Royal Gazette asked the Government for information about design, printing and mailing expenses for the brochure, including any internal costs or employee hours required for its production.

A spokeswoman replied: “The information being shared in the brochure is a compilation of information that is already in the public domain.

“There was no cost to mail, as it is OHMS [On Her Majesty’s Service].

“There was no cost to design, as that is an internal service.

“The printing was done by Island Press Ltd. The print cost was $4,700.

“Such costs are allocated for within the Cabinet Office budget to provide for the promotion and awareness of Government's programmes and initiatives.”

Dr DeCouto said this week: “The government statement that there was no cost to mail this political advertisement is frankly dishonest – the flyer had to be handled by post office staff, transported and delivered by postal workers.

“In addition, the postal workers had to visit every mailbox even if they otherwise had no mail for it.”

He added: “Similar for designing – a civil servant had to spend time to research, compile, lay out and design this political advertisement.

“That time could have been spent on tasks of direct benefit to Bermudians.

“It is clearly our opinion that government funds should not be spent in this manner, especially given the general lack of surplus funds in the government budget, and this sentiment has been shared by numerous members of the public both in personal messages and via the various online communications.

“Finally, there are items on this list for which the Government is taking credit incorrectly, or which have not actually been achieved.”

He highlighted Chromebooks for school pupils that he said were “privately funded”. The government brochure said that all public primary school pupils were supplied with the devices.

Dr DeCouto added: “As stated elsewhere, the Economic Recovery Plan has yet to progress, the Wage Commission has yet to show any progress, and there is silence on the progress of the Tax Reform Commission.

“In addition, LED light bulbs are yet to be delivered; and statements about increases versus inflation are based on Government inflation figures that are widely acknowledged to not reflect the actual cost of living for most Bermudians.”

The government spokeswoman said earlier this week: “There is no cost for mailing local government mail. This has always been the case.

“The work was done within the normal operating hours of a work day and was done concurrent with other projects.

"The 90-plus initiatives in the flyer reflect information that is already in the public domain.

"The production of the flyer is no different from the work produced on the recent Budget mailer, the annual Budget Statement, the Throne Speech, annual reports and all the other countless collateral materials created to highlight the Government’s programmes, policies and initiatives.“

In a press release about the leaflet last Friday, David Burt, the Premier, said: “Over the last five years, the Government has been steadily working for the betterment of Bermuda.

“We have introduced innovative and relevant policies that helped to ensure a better life for the people of this island.

“The Government remains committed to ensuring that our citizens are cared for, provided for, and have access to fair and equitable opportunities to thrive.”

He added: “We look forward to continuing to serve Bermuda and working hard every day to deliver progress for Bermudian families, residents, and businesses.”

* To view the brochure online, visithttps://www.gov.bm/file/government-progress-update-2022pdf.