After Minister of Works Philip Brave Davis revealed in the House of Assembly last week that the insurance had lapsed on the dorm at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) that was set afire on January 15, Prime Minister Perry Christie declared that it was a “teachable experience”. Many Bahamians, meanwhile, are left wondering whether we as taxpayers will be left holding the bag, even though the contractor, Audley Hanna, told The Nassau Guardian he will “find the money to build it back”. Hanna also said he did not realize the building was not insured until Davis reported on the matter in the House of Assembly last Wednesday.

Up until that point, he said, he thought the building was insured. It was then that he said he had to check to determine whether the building was indeed insured. He also reported that it was insured by a company called Southern Alliance.

The company is not listed in the phone book. It is also not listed on the website of the Insurance Commission of The Bahamas. We find it curious that on February 25, more than a full month after that fire, Hanna had not yet checked on the status of the building’s insurance.

Speaking of the insurance matter, Hanna said, “They called me yesterday (Wednesday) on the same thing, and as far as I’m concerned the building was insured. Now I don’t know if the insurance lapsed because we did run over because of circumstances beyond our control.”

During that period, there were many questions in the public over who will cover the cost of reconstruction. Again, Hanna told a reporter that after the fire he still thought the building was insured. In the House on Wednesday, Davis, the works minister and deputy prime minister, said that at the signing of the BAMSI contract, “the contractor had everything that was required to contract work with my ministry, including contractor’s all-risk insurance.

“However, because of the delay and the fact that the contractor failed to pay the annual premium, the insurance coverage expired.”

Davis said his ministry is “now in discussions as to the way ahead”. It was his response to a question from Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis on whether the same contractor would be re-contracted “when it obviously demonstrates irresponsibility to allow the insurance to lapse”. It is, quite frankly, disgraceful that six weeks after someone set the BAMSI dorm afire the minister of works was unable to provide a full report on the matter to the House of Assembly.

By now, he should be able to indicate the complete cost of the repairs, how the repairs will be covered and whether the current contractor will be involved. Davis also owes the public an explanation on how the due diligence for these types of matters is handled. While he is at it, he should table the contract in question, including evidence that the building was at some point insured.

Surely, someone in the Ministry of Works had to be responsible for keeping track of the BAMSI contracts to determine whether they are being strictly adhered to and whether contractors are meeting all requirements under those contracts. If payments are being made then contractors should be meeting agreed targets and requirements during the duration of the project. It is not enough to tell the public that the contractor somehow screwed up.

Did someone in the Ministry of Works also screw this contract up? It is not enough from the prime minister to report to Parliament that this is a teachable experience. This is not the time for cliches. It is the time for accountability and for answers.

We need to feel comfortable as taxpayers that negligence does not lead to wastage of tax dollars. In this era of ongoing austerity and increasing demands on our wages, we demand assurances that government expenditure is not frivolous, wasteful or without appropriate oversight. We are paying value-added tax, and soon, we are told, we will have to pay for National Health Insurance. We are therefore less tolerant of slackness and negligence on the part of those responsible for the expenditure of those tax dollars.

Again, we do not know all the details of the BAMSI contract and the insurance matter, but we hope it is not much longer before the authorities report fully on what costs will be incurred by the Bahamian people in getting BAMSI on track. There might also need to be a closer oversight of all government projects currently being constructed.

Have any of their insurance contracts lapsed? Who is checking on those? We must do more than recognizing that this affair is a teachable experience, as Christie put it. We must define what the lesson is and those responsible must demonstrate that they understand that lesson.