Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Hubert Chipman said it is "troubling" that the House of Assembly cannot finance public hearings of the PAC's planned probe of the Bahamas Agriculture Marine Resources and Science Institute (BAMSI).
Chipman requested public hearings "on the circumstances and facts surrounding the execution and construction of the BAMSI project" in the House of Assembly on March 18.
"I've written to (House of Assembly) Speaker (Dr. Kendal Major) who has now since written to the prime minster," Chipman said this week. "What is troubling about this is the speaker does not have within his budget the money to accommodate public hearings so he has to get permission from the prime minister in order finance a public hearing.
"We want a public hearing for all to see and so the Family Island people can see what's going on. I think everyone is concerned with what's happening at BAMSI and this only came about on January 15 as a result of the fire and there has been a lot of talk in the public domain and we just need to get the bottom of it. And we will do it publicly."
Major confirmed on Wednesday that he wrote a letter to Christie. It is unclear whether Christie responded to the request for funds. Controversy surrounding the BAMSI project erupted after it was revealed that the male dorm, which was destroyed during that fire, was not insured, as is required by the Ministry of Works, prior to the mobilization of contract funds.
Minister of Works Philip Brave Davis previously said that at the time the government signed the contract with contractor Audley Hanna, he presented an insurance quote from Royal Star Assurance. However, he never paid the insurance premiums.
When Chipman addressed the controversy in the House of Assembly in March he said the people of The Bahamas need answers.
"The democracy demands that those responsible for the BAMSI saga answer to the pubic and answer in the public hearing," Chipman said. "There are numerous unanswered questions, which were only multiplied after the recent statement made by the deputy prime minister and member for Cat Island and San Salvador.
"We in the opposition demand answers. The press demands answers. But above all the public and the people of The Bahamas demand and deserve answers.
"The information which has been revealed to date suggests that grave breaches of protocol have occurred which had resulted in substantial loss of funds to the public purse and unless addressed will continue to destroy the nation's faith in the system."
Chipman requested that the hearings be broadcast on radio and television. Prime Minister Perry Christie previously suggested that the investigation would likely expose the culture of negligence within the Ministry of Works that spanned over several administrations.
The BAMSI dorm will cost $5.5 million to rebuild, according to Davis. Davis said Hanna is liable for $2.5 million.
On February 16, Dave Dion Moxey, 50, was charged with setting fire to the dormitory.
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