Bahamas
The Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president yesterday said the recent collapse of roof trusses at R. M. Bailey senior high school again exposes why the Government should “expeditiously appoint” the Contractors Board.
Leonard Sands told Tribune Business that the continued absence of the self-regulatory body, whose creation was given legal weight in the Construction Contractors Act 2016 (CCA), is the only tool that can ensure construction industry integrity via the licensing and certification of contractors according to their abilities and scope of work they can perform.
Describing this as important as a “medical licence”, he added: “Failure to ensure that you’re dealing with persons who have the capability and wherewithal to construct and do business in construction is just as important as you going to professional medical personnel to deal with your health.”
Prime Minister Philip Davis KC on Sunday said the roof trusses for R. M. Bailey’s lunch pavilion collapsed when a worker, who was not being supervised, moved the brace that was holding them up. Bishop Anthony Roker, principal of A & M Construction, the contractor carrying out the work, took “full responsibility for what happened”. He added that he has four decades of experience in the construction industry, and has done work for both FNM and PLP governments.
Mr Davis described the worker who moved the brace as an “agent”, suggesting he was not directly employed by A & M Construction but by a third-party sub-contractor. The Prime Minister also denied that the R. M. Bailey construction contract was awarded due to “favouritism” or political connections.
However, what was not mentioned is that A & M Construction has also been awarded the $18m contract to upgrade Cat Island’s New Bight airport. A review of Tribune Business files showed Mr Davis announced this contract award, for a key infrastructure asset in his own constituency, at last year’s Cat Island Business Outlook conference where he mentioned Bishop Roker and the company by name.
Mr Sands, meanwhile, said: “The Construction Contractors Act is now an Act of parliament. It is now law. But the law cannot take effect without the Board in place, so the government of The Bahamas is in breach of the law which it established more than five years ago.”
it was also reported that A & M Construction did not have contractors’ all-risk insurance in place when the trusses collapsed and also did not possess a written contract – only an oral one – for the work that was taking place. Questions are now likely to be asked over whether the New Bight airport work has a written contract and is covered by the necessary insurance.
“All I have to say on that is if the Ministry of Education is comfortable engaging individuals for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and possibly millions of dollars worth of work, on a verbal agreement, it makes me question if they should have education in the same phrase as ministry, because that seems to be a very unintelligent thing to do,” Mr Sands said.
“This is one of the reasons why we feel that the Construction Contractors Act Board has not been appointed because then ministers or governments or politicians can determine when they want their friends to do work, to whatever advantage that is for the contractor, to the disadvantage of the agency because it is not regulated, governed or obviously doesn’t have any kind of oversight.”
The Public Procurement Act’s section 22 mandates that where the value of a contract exceeds $50,000, but not $250,000, the tenders committee in the relevant Ministry where the contract is being executed can award it. However, if the contract is worth more than $250,000, then the Tenders Board will have oversight, and if it is over $1m approval has to come from the Cabinet.
Noting that contracts for school repairs, which reflect contracts of significant magnitude, must come before a Tenders committee at the very least, Mr Sands added: “I can imagine that work they have engaged is much more than $50,000, and no document can come before the Tenders Board by conversation. It has to be in written contract, it has to be reviewed,” Mr Sands said.
“It’s not really the contractor’s fault. It was the people who engaged the contractor and everyone involved in that practice. This is not commonplace in The Bahamas, and it has never been.”
Arguing that awarding oral contracts is a “departure from the norm” and has “never been protocol” for any administration, Mr Sands said: “I have many, many contractors who have contracts with several ministries, and they have written and reviewed contracts, and none of them have a contract that is verbal to build a structure amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars and them to just go and build it.”
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Bahamas
Governance reformers yesterday voiced “alarm” that the uncertainty surrounding the Fiscal Responsibility Council highlights a growing “trend” where public accountability and transparency “lack priority” within government.
Matt Aubry, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Tribune Business that the fiscal watchdog’s present ‘in limbo’ status is another example where the Davis administration appears to be “paying less attention” to building trust as opposed to focusing on other policy priorities.
Speaking after this newspaper revealed Council members are seeking clarity from Prime Minister Philip Davis KC as to whether their appointments are still valid, he also pointed to the “continued contravention” of both the initial and new Public Procurement Act due to the Government’s failure to publish details on contract awards within 60 days of their issuance.
“What I think alarms us about it is it’s yet another instance where we see a lack of clarity for the mechanisms of transparency and accountability, and the responsibility to give information to citizens,” Mr Aubry told this newspaper on the Council.
“When we look at that, it ultimately reinforces what we see as a trend – that there’s more and more instances of this lack of priority for government mechanisms…. What we’ve seen in the instance of the Freedom of Information Act, and maybe with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, is there is not the same level of attention to these issues when compared to the focus on others such as getting off blacklists and accessing more sources of revenue.
“These are just as critical, and maybe even more so, because when government enacts changes citizens can see whether they are aligned with their interests.” Tribune Business yesterday reached out to Latrae Rahming, the Prime Minister’s communications director, to seek government comment and inquire what it was doing to address Fiscal Responsibility Council member concerns as to whether their appointments are still valid.
This newspaper also asked the Government to address concerns that the Council is perceived to be less independent from government following enactment of the Public Finance Management Act 2023, which switched responsibility for its members’ appointment from the House of Assembly speaker to the minister of finance (now Mr Davis) – the very person whose ministry, and fiscal strategies, plans and actions, they are supposed to be scrutinising.
Mr Rahming acknowledged receiving Tribune Business’ questions and message, but no reply was received before press time last night. Gowon Bowe, the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) representative on the Fiscal Responsibility Council (FRC), explained he and his colleagues need confirmation if they remain members until their original appointments expire or if they are considered “terminated” due to the new Act coming into effect.
Given that the Council plays a critical role in The Bahamas’ enhanced fiscal transparency and accountability regime, he added that it was “in the best interests of the Government” and the nation to reassure the likes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) that there is no intention of “watering down” this framework.
The five-member Council plays a critical role since it is charged with examining whether the Government’s annual Budget, Fiscal Strategy Report and other measures align with set fiscal responsibility targets and principles. To-date, though, it has released just two assessments – on the 2020 Fiscal Strategy Report and the 2021-2022 Budget.
Mr Aubry yesterday said the Government’s decision to merge the Fiscal Responsibility Act into the Public Finance Management Act, consolidating both laws into one, has made the Council’s role “more important” because it has “reduced the opportunities for the public to learn and understand the fiscal strategy and financial position of the Government.
“It requires a more robust reporting schedule, and the importance of the Fiscal Responsibility Council achieving their mandate is critical,” he added. “We’ve seen even when the Fiscal Responsibility Act was in effect there was still not a frequent level of reporting, and a lack of clarity on when the Council would bring information forward or access the resources and funds to do their job appropriately.”
Asserting that this mechanism was a key component in building greater trust in government among Bahamians, Mr Aubry added: “If there’s less reporting and the mechanism is not in place, your fiscal responsibility is disengaged and not as robust. It affects your credit rating, which affects your borrowing costs, it affects local and international confidence in the fiscal strategy and position of The Bahamas.
“Given the clear focus on trying to drive new sources of revenue, you’d want that to be published, scrutinised and reflective of feedback and analysis by the experts on the Council. There’s a lot of benefit from having this mechanism, which does not have a long history, working.”
Mr Aubry said ORG holds similar concerns over “the continued contravention of the Public Procurement Act because there’s no public disclosure of which contracts have been awarded”. While the Government’s procurement website is “modern and accessible”, and provides a list of the different tenders and contracts out to bid, together with the identities of some winning bidders, he urged that “the back end” be enhanced to comply with the law.
This requires that the name of the winning bidder, the contract value and “what is expected of them” be published within 60 days of award but this has never been fully complied with since the first Act took effect on September 1, 2021, during the final days of the Minnis administration.
Mr Aubry said the Act’s purpose was to ensure government contracts are awarded fairly, rather than on the basis of patronage, political and family connections or some other arbitrary influences. If it worked, small Bahamian businesses would be encouraged to bid and, if they succeeded, they will grow themselves and the economy.
The Opposition, meanwhile, were quick to jump on what they termed the Government’s “inaction” over the Fiscal Responsibility Council. Kwasi Thompson, the Free National Movement’s (FNM) finance spokesman, accused the Government of “systematically decimating” transparency and accountability checks and balances that the former Minnis administration established.
“It was just wrong to move the jurisdiction of the Council from the Speaker to the minister of finance,” Mr Thompson said. “The Council members are correct; it is like the fox watching the hen house. It was wrong to move the funding from the Parliament to the Ministry of Finance. It was wrong to move the appointment of the Council from the Speaker to the minister of finance.
“The Davis administration has systematically decimated the accountability controls, particularly with respect to the Fiscal Responsibility Council.” Mr Thompson argued that the Government has yet to justify the changes to the Fiscal Responsibility Council, and added: “It is the people who suffer the most from not having the necessary reports of the Council, and the Government seems happy to simply ignore this important accountability control system.”
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Bahamas
Official Opposition Leader Michael Pintard slammed Prime Minister Philip Davis and Works and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears over the debacle of an unfinished roof collapsing on a building on the campus of the R.M. Bailey Senior High School earlier this month and characterized comments made by both an “astounding collection of mistruths.”
Mr. Pintard, on Tuesday, said, “The Opposition is dismayed by the astounding collection of mistruths and deflections the prime minister and his minister of works
have sought to drop on the Bahamian people once again in the aftermath of the roof collapse at the R. M. Bailey Construction site.” The Free National Movement (FNM) is demanding accountability.
Both Prime Minister Davis and Minister Sears, came to the defense of the contractor responsible for constructing a lunch pavilion on the school’s campus.
Last Friday, Ministry of Works officials released a statement in reference to the incident titled “R.M. Bailey High School Lunch Pavilion – Roof Collapse” however, both the prime minister and the minister with responsibility on Sunday, during a tour of schools undergoing repairs, said a roof did not collapse but instead its trusses.
In the ministry’s statement information, not intended for public consumption, was also included, and officials requested that the media not release the same, including an admission that the contractor had no written contract nor risk or liability insurance.
Prime Minister Davis confirmed the details in the statement and said the contractor had a verbal agreement that was to be reduced to writing. He also noted that the contractor, Anthony Roker of A&M Construction decided to self-insure until all of the i’s were dotted and t’s crossed.
Mr. Pintard, though, called on the prime minister to provide evidence that the Tenders Committee did its review and approval.
“First, the prime minister and Minister Sears with a straight face told the Bahamian people that the roof collapse, that everyone saw, was not in fact a collapsed roof. The PLP is now at the point where they will say anything to cover their obvious ineptitude. Fortunately, the Bahamian people know very well what they saw.
“Then, the prime minister suggested that the contractor had an oral contract for a project that would be valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars at minimum. This is rubbish, plain and simple,” Mr. Pintard said.
“The Procurement Acts of 2021 and 2023 require that a project of this size be approved by the agency’s Tenders Committee or the Public Procurement Board, depending on the contract value.”
He added, “The Committee and Board would not give consideration to an ‘oral’ contract proposal, nor would they approve a waiver of the requirement for proper insurance coverage. By law, no procurement contract can be awarded unless the process prescribed by law is followed – anything else is an illegal contract.”
As for the contractor’s decision to “self-insure,” Mr. Pintard asserted that the contractor has “no option to ‘take on the risk.’”
“The issue of so-called ‘self-insurance’ held by the contractor is almost certainly a grand fiction concocted on the spot by the prime minister,” he said.
“He knows well from the BAMSI debacle that the standing government policy is that all public projects of this type require express insurance coverage.”
Back in 2015, a fire at Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Sciences Institute (BAMSI) on Andros, destroyed a dormitory. At the time, Prime Minister Davis served as the deputy prime minister and minister of works under the Christie administration.
“Unless the prime minister can provide evidence that the contractor has established a separate legal entity appropriately funded to provide insurance for the contractor’s business interests, then no self-insurance exists,” Mr. Pintard said.
The FNM Leader also questioned, “how many other illegal contracts are currently in place with nothing more than a handshake and a wink?” We demand that the prime minister provide evidence that the Tenders Committee did its review and approval. We further demand that the government provide a full accounting of all projects for which there are only “oral contracts” in place and for which there is no appropriate insurance coverage.”
While he did not provide any evidence, Mr. Pintard said it was brought to his attention that a “senior member of the engineering team did not support the construction of the truss with the size of the lumber used, neither did the technical team support the construction of the pavilion in that particular area of the campus for reasons that included the safety and security of the student population.
“If this is the case, who overrode the prudent advice of the public officers at the Ministry?” the FNM Leader said.
“We cannot have a renegade government that believes that it is above the law and can do as it pleases. If there are more examples of this wanton recklessness and illegality, then the responsible ministers must resign.
“Enough is enough.”
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Trinidad and Tobago
FINANCE Minister ColmImbert on Thursday justified a new procurement bill by saying under the current law it could take a state body as long as four months to buy an item as simple as a drinking glass. He was in the Senate piloting the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2023 to the amend the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act 2015.
“Hyperbole and nonsense” were how he dubbed Opposition fears that the bill would gut TT’s procurement legislation.
Regarding criticism of proposals to exempt acquisitions/disposals of up to $1 million from the procurement act, he said a threshold has existed since 1961. He said under the Central Tenders Board Ordinance, in 1961 the exemption threshold for an accounting officer’s minor purchases was $10,000.
It had been increased to $100,000 in 1983, $500,000 in 1984, and now $1 million since 2010. He added. “That threshold is subject to regulation.”
He said the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had recommended exemption thresholds in areas including aid, troops and international agencies, while the Caribbean nations of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Belize have thresholds of US$150,000, virtually equivalent to the bill’s proposed $1 million.
“Exemptions are part and parcel of modern procurement laws.”
Imbert warned that reports from Jamaica were of a 25 per cent decease in the government’s development programmes under their national budget simply because public service accounting officers were “afraid, unfamiliar and unsure of what they should do” regarding procurement rules which impose hefty fines and imprisonment.
He detailed at length how a procurement procedure – inclusive of a pre-qualifying period – for an item as simple as a drinking glass could take up to four months.
Imbert said a procurement process entailed the registering of companies for pre-qualification inclusive of them ensuring their taxes (VAT and corporation tax) and National Insurance Scheme contributions were all up to date. He said the total period of up to four months did not include any additional time delay incurred by a challenge to a particular procurement exercise. “There must be a simplified procedure for routine matters.”
He said it could not be the case that one had to wait four months just to buy toner for a photocopier.
Imbert noted that Coast Guard vessels need constant upkeep and so under a restrictive procurement regime could be out of service due to acquisition problems for items as trite as a seal, ring or screw. “An entire vessel can be immobilised because it needs a ball bearing.”
He said the Coast Guard now has a credit card facility to buy such items up to a value of US$15,000.
Imbert lamented that a child in need of urgent surgery might apply to the Children’s Life Fund but this facility was subject to procurement rules. He said if the child needed to be treated at a hospital such as in South America or the US, the hospital must first pre qualify and register under the Procurement Act, which he did not think they would wish to bother to do.
“That is an example we need to look at urgently,” he said.
“Are you going to tell a hospital in Miami, ‘Produce your audited financials or we’ll not let you deal with a child with a hole in his heart?'”
Imbert then wondered at the logic of a competitive bid and a sole select bid taking the same period of time under the procurement rules.
Predicting what would happen without the bill’s passage, he said, “The procurement of routine items could become impossible and grind the country to a halt.”
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Bahamas
FINANCIAL Secretary Simon Wilson could not say when the government would comply with the Public Procurement Act’s requirement to disclose contract awards but said officials are working on doing so.
The law requires government to disclose the name and address of winning bidders, the procuring entity, the procurement selection method and the award amount within 60 days of the contract award.
Mr Wilson said in April that the government would fulfil this obligation when the reporting capacity of its procurement system is improved. He said information was being backfilled on the new Bonfire procurement portal.
Asked for an update yesterday, he said: “That’s a work in progress. So, we have made great strides. We have most agencies have their contracts reported. There are one or two ones which we think are critical to be included before we publish. So, we are waiting for those agencies to upload their last contracts awards, and once that’s done, we’ll be able to publish.”
Asked about the delay in complying with the law, Mr Wilson said: “The Act came into effect July 1st. This is the 24th. So, I don’t know what’s too long.”
He said the government is committed to compliance.
“We are doing more public procurement than ever before,” he said. “If you go on our portal, you’ll see many opportunities that were never there, so we do everything that we should be doing. It’s always a work in progress. Yes, we can improve. The publication of contracts is a long-standing item that we’re working on, but we are actively working.”
Mr Wilson said he believes the public will be pleased when the publication process is completed.
We are just trying to get the first publication right because once the first publication is right, the other ones should follow,” he said.
Last week, the Bahamas Contractors Association president, Leonard Sands, criticised the government’s failure to publish contract awards and accused the administration of deliberately ignoring the requirement.
“The government and the minister of public works by choice are deciding to break the law,” he said. “The law says what should happen and they do not do what the act and the law says.”
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