Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday slammed Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis over his barrage of attacks on the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) and charged he is confusing political attacks with the good of the project.
Minnis has relentlessly criticized the project and claimed he has instructed the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Assembly to investigate it, particularly the no-bid contracts given out. Christie said he is concerned that Minnis is missing BAMSI's bigger picture. "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's 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," he said.
Christie said government has not determined how it will address the uninsured male dormitory at BAMSI that was severely damaged by fire in January. Minnis has said that the government is partly to blame for the lapse in insurance at the dorm. "The leader of the opposition has the right to make such an observation," Christie said on the sidelines of the Agri-Business Expo off Gladstone Road. "Ordinarily, in terms of contracts there is a requirement on the part of the contractor and the person awarding the contract for full compliance and so that is a matter that is subject to further investigation and determination as to how we will respond to it. "But whether people pay National Insurance, whether they have their insurance policies in place, all of that is a part of ensuring full compliance with the terms of the contract. "So I don't have a problem with the leader of the opposition making that point." Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis revealed that the contractor allowed the insurance to lapse. According to Davis, at the time the contract was signed the contractor had everything that was required to contract work including contractor's all-risk insurance.
The contractor said he was under the impression the building was insured at the time of the blaze. Audley Hanna, president of Paradigm Construction, said the building is insured with Southern Alliance. He admitted that if the dorm is not insured he would have to "find the money to build it back". The Guardian searched the Insurance Commission of The Bahamas' website but did not find the name of the company listed. A senior insurance broker in the country also told The Guardian that she had never heard of the company.
Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller has told The Guardian that someone should be held accountable for the insurance oversight. Minnis and a Free National Movement (FNM) delegation toured BAMSI on Sunday. He said he does not believe the building was ever insured. Davis said yesterday that he is reviewing a report on the issue and will make a statement in the House of Assembly on Monday. On February 16, Dave Dion Moxey, 50, was charged with setting fire to the dormitory. Minnis has asked the government to table the contract for the male dorm and the insurance documents.
Christie has called the BAMSI insurance matter "a teachable experience". Fourteen contractors have been hired to work on various aspects of the project. Since taking office, the government has billed BAMSI as an important initiative to cut the nation's dependence on food imports. Over $20 million has been invested in the facility so far, according to government officials.
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