Agriculture Minister V. Alfred Gray said yesterday a disgruntled employee admitted to police that he set the fire that severely damaged a male dormitory at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) in Andros.
The worker was reportedly upset because he hadn't received money owed to him by a contractor, said Gray, who added that he expects the police "to prosecute and let the chips fall where they will".
The police wrapped up their investigation into the fire on Sunday.
Superintendent Walter Evans confirmed that the fire started as a result of arson.
Gray said the police reported their findings to him yesterday.
"They know who's responsible," he said.
"He's confessed to it. It is what it is. I'm told it arose out of a dispute with the contractor and [the disgruntled employee] and that's the way he sought to settle it."
Gray said he is aware that some workers have periodically reported challenges with receiving payments from contractors.
But he pointed out there are better ways to resolve disputes.
"There's always a court and I was saying if he had gotten to the point where he needed a few dollars I would've given it to him and waited until he could give it back to me," Gray said.
"But we lost millions of dollars because of a few hundred dollars. It's just not sensible."
The fire started in the roof before 7 p.m. on Thursday and raged on for hours, Evans said.
The dormitory was 80 percent completed, according to officials.
Director of Works John Canton said the contractor will be responsible for rebuilding the structure.
"He does have insurance," Canton said.
"Any government contract requires the contract to have at least $1 million at risk insurance. So it would be the contractor's insurance that would be at risk."
Gray previously said the government intends to rebuild.
Since taking office, Prime Minister Perry Christie has touted BAMSI as one of the government's most important initiatives.
Gray said BAMSI is a part of Christie's legacy. He said he met Christie yesterday morning to discuss the developments in the case.
"The prime minister is distressed about the events as every responsible person would be," Gray said. "He is our leader and this...is his brainchild. I think he would be far more affected than most people.
"He is distressed over something like that happening, particularly for the reasons it would have happened.
"If it was accidental I think it would have been more acceptable. But we do not want people to take the law into their hands."
Gray added, "We are going to prosecute...to the fullest extent of the law because we don't want people to think they could just burn down government buildings and just walk away. The police have it and I expect them to prosecute."

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