{"id":29971,"date":"2023-09-14T23:04:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T04:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=29971"},"modified":"2023-09-14T17:44:42","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T22:44:42","slug":"pintard-criticizes-govt-for-roof-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/pintard-criticizes-govt-for-roof-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"Pintard Criticizes Gov\u2019t for Roof Collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bahamas<\/p>\n

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 \u201castounding collection of mistruths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Pintard, on Tuesday, said, \u201cThe Opposition is dismayed by the astounding collection of mistruths and deflections the prime minister and his minister of works
\nhave sought to drop on the Bahamian people once again in the aftermath of the roof collapse at the R. M. Bailey Construction site.\u201d The Free National Movement (FNM) is demanding accountability.<\/p>\n

Both Prime Minister Davis and Minister Sears, came to the defense of the contractor responsible for constructing a lunch pavilion on the school\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n

Last Friday, Ministry of Works officials released a statement in reference to the incident titled \u201cR.M. Bailey High School Lunch Pavilion \u2013 Roof Collapse\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

In the ministry\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Davis confirmed the details in the statement and said the contractor\u00a0 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\u2019s were dotted and t\u2019s crossed.<\/p>\n

Mr. Pintard, though, called on the prime minister to provide evidence that the Tenders Committee did its review and approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, 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\u00a0PLP 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, 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,\u201d Mr. Pintard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Procurement Acts of 2021 and 2023 require that a project of this size be approved by the agency\u2019s Tenders Committee or the Public Procurement Board, depending on the contract value.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cThe Committee and Board would not give consideration to an \u2018oral\u2019 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 \u2013 anything else is an illegal contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the contractor\u2019s decision to \u201cself-insure,\u201d Mr. Pintard asserted that the contractor has \u201cno option to \u2018take on the risk.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue of so-called \u2018self-insurance\u2019 held by the contractor is almost certainly a grand fiction concocted on the spot by the prime minister,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows well from the BAMSI debacle that the standing government policy is that all public projects of this type require express insurance coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless the prime minister can provide evidence that the contractor has established a separate legal entity appropriately funded to provide insurance for the contractor\u2019s business interests, then no self-insurance exists,\u201d Mr. Pintard said.<\/p>\n

The FNM Leader also questioned, \u201chow many other illegal contracts are currently in place with nothing more than a handshake and a wink?\u201d We demand that the prime minister provide evidence that the Tenders Committee did its review and approval.\u00a0We further demand that the government provide a full accounting of all projects for which there are only \u201coral contracts\u201d in place and for which there is no appropriate insurance coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he did not provide any evidence, Mr. Pintard said it was brought to his attention that a \u201csenior 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this is the case, who overrode the prudent advice of the public officers at the Ministry?\u201d the FNM Leader said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image: pexels-pixabay<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1091,"featured_media":29972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[250],"tags":[166,190],"class_list":["post-29971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-articles","tag-bahamas","tag-construction"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/pexels-pixabay-48882-scaled-e1694731439718.jpg?fit=1024%2C678&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-7Np","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35025,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/pintard-condemns-blatant-disregard-for-procurement-laws-in-bpl-reform-process\/","url_meta":{"origin":29971,"position":0},"title":"Pintard condemns \u201cblatant disregard\u201d for procurement laws in BPL reform process","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"July 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas Opposition Leader Michael Pintard raised concerns yesterday regarding the Davis administration\u2019s energy reform exercise, arguing that while some elements underwent competitive bidding, other critical aspects blatantly disregarded procurement laws. Energy and Transport Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis informed Parliament during her budget debate contribution on Wednesday that the government has contracted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31235,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/pintard-criticizes-government-over-saudi-loan-and-non-compliance-with-procurement-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":29971,"position":1},"title":"Pintard criticizes government over Saudi Loan and non-compliance with Procurement Act","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"November 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas NASSAU, BAHAMAS \u2013 Opposition leader Michael Pintard is slamming the Davis administration over recent comments regarding a $70 million Saudi loan and the government\u2019s delay in complying with the Procurement Act.\u00a0 Pintard said in a statement, \u201cInstead of doing the right thing and offering a heartfelt apology for them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5673488-scaled-e1692322490716.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5673488-scaled-e1692322490716.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5673488-scaled-e1692322490716.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5673488-scaled-e1692322490716.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31240,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/pintard-publish-procurement-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":29971,"position":2},"title":"Pintard: Publish procurement report","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"November 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard yesterday called on the Davis administration to follow the law\u00a0and report on the millions of dollars worth of contracts it has awarded. \u201cWhat is stopping the prime minister from publishing the first annual procurement report due October 2022?\u201d Pintard asked in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668858-scaled-e1699564529399.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668858-scaled-e1699564529399.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668858-scaled-e1699564529399.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668858-scaled-e1699564529399.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26649,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/no-stone-left-unturned-on-govt-accountability\/","url_meta":{"origin":29971,"position":3},"title":"No stone left unturned’ on Gov’t accountability","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"March 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas The Opposition's leader yesterday pledged to \"leave no stone unturned\" in holding the Government accountable while asserting that the Public Accounts Committee is now \"rolling\" into action. 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