The fact that the Ministry of Works has no evidence the male dorm at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) that burned in a fire on January 15 was ever insured underscores the level of slackness that exists in some areas of government.
All over this country, many Bahamians, burdened by increased demands on their stagnant wages, have had enough.
There needs to be a strong message sent that negligence and abuse of public funds will not be tolerated. And there must be a complete and full reporting by Minister of Works Philip Brave Davis about what transpired.
What we now know in relation to this matter is contrary to what Davis told Parliament just over a week ago, there is no insurance certificate on file. Davis reported that the insurance on the building had lapsed. He said at the time of the signing of the BAMSI contract, "the contractor had everything that was required to contract work within 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."
We suspected all along that there was never any insurance in the first place, a requirement before any public funds could be issued to contractors. In the wake of this fiasco, there are multiple questions. Chief among them is why did Davis, the deputy prime minister, give bad information to Parliament. We also need to know who was negligent in the handling of public funds.
Who issued public checks without first confirming there was an insurance certificate in place? How much money was paid to the contractor to date? Who was responsible for monitoring this contract? What is the status of all the other BAMSI contracts? Do they have insurance?
The DPM is now duty bound to table in Parliament all of the contracts connected to BAMSI. He is duty bound to prove that the other buildings that make up the multimillion-dollar Andros project are insured and that they have been insured since day one of the project. In the case of the male dorm, the ministry's file reflects that there was never an insurance certificate, but an insurance quote from a local insurance company.
Had we been surprised by any of this, we would have been speechless. But there have been too many examples of slackness to surprise us anymore. This debacle has thrown into question the status of all other public contracts underway.
The BAMSI insurance matter must not be waved away, or swept away. It cannot be talked away. It will not go away even after Davis has reported to Parliament. The public would only be able to find some comfort if it sees that those responsible are held accountable.
We understand that the damage caused by the fire is in excess of $1 million. Who will pay for this? Is it the taxpayers who are saddled with value-added tax and other taxes? Are we to feel good about tax dollars being flushed down the drain due to a culture of slackness in our system?
Instead of focusing on the mess that has been made of the handling of this contract, Prime Minister Perry Christie on Thursday lashed out at Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis for his many BAMSI-related criticisms. While the FNM's recent unannounced visit to BAMSI in North Andros was ill-advised, that is merely an aside to a matter that is much more serious in terms of the implications on the public purse. Other than telling us the BAMSI matter was a "teachable experience", we have yet to hear anything substantive from the prime minister on the insurance issue.
He told reporters, "The sad thing about the leader of the opposition for me is that he confuses political commentary and attacks with the goodness of the project, and he has found it difficult to separate himself from how enriching this could be potentially for Bahamians for a source of employment, as a source of applying fresh food, organic farming, that this has an incredible opportunity for us."
It has been nearly two months since the fire. We expect by now the prime minister has been updated on the status of the insurance for the building.
Following the blaze, it took six weeks for the contractor, Audley Hanna, to check into the insurance. He told The Nassau Guardian that up until Davis told the House of Assembly the insurance had lapsed, he thought the dorm was insured. He said it was insured by Southern Alliance, but that company is not listed in the telephone directory or on the website of the Insurance Commission of The Bahamas.
Something about the whole affair just did not seem to add up. As we said last week, we found it curious that on February 25, more than a full month after the fire, Hanna had not yet checked on the status of the building's insurance. We also reiterate that Davis owes the public an explanation on how the due diligence for these types of matters is handled.
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.
We repeat, it is not enough for the prime minister to report to Parliament that this is a teachable experience. It is time for accountability and for answers.
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. It is time for those charged with the effective handling of our money who are failing in their duties to clean up their act. It is time for our leaders to demonstrate that they are serious about the proper administration of the public purse. Surely, the time has long passed for heads to roll.
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