Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis owes the public an explanation on exactly how it is he came to mislead the Parliament of The Bahamas. This is a critical issue that goes to the heart of his own credibility.

As a Queen's Counsel with prime ministerial ambitions, he ought to be deeply concerned about that. It could cast a shadow over anything he says on the floor of the House of Assembly from this point on.

When the deputy prime minister speaks on any issue, how are we to know we can trust what he is saying?
How are we to know that he is speaking based on facts?

On matters of national import, this becomes particularly worrying. It is, quite frankly, disgraceful that Davis has not seen fit to apologize to the Bahamian people for making an inaccurate report to Parliament regarding the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) dorm that was destroyed by fire on January 15.

On February 25, Davis, the minister of works, told Parliament that at the time of the contract signing for the dorm, the contractor had everything that was required to contract work, including all-risk insurance. Davis reported to the House that the insurance lapsed due to project delays. We now know none of that was true.

The contractor, Audley Hanna of Paradigm Construction, never had insurance. Where exactly did Davis get his information? Who in his ministry provided it and is anyone being held accountable for failing to ensure insurance was in place before public funds were released to the contractor?  Where were the checks and balances to protect the public purse?

Davis has chalked the matter up to an "administrative error". But that seems to be a major understatement. He also told the House on Wednesday, "I should not speculate that any agreement existed, but if there was an agreement for the ministry to advance the premium to the insurance company from the contractor's mobilization payment, this should have been done.

"I mention this because I am advised that this has been done in the past to assist contractors' qualification for contractual works."

After initially coming to the House with bad information, Davis was still not in a position to explain whether there was an agreement in place for the ministry to advance the payment. This is incredible. He has concluded that the contractor now stands fully liable for the construction outlay to date, which totals $2.5 million. We have little hope that that money will ever be recovered.

Davis has asked that we see the "bigger picture", but we are asking that the government understands that many Bahamians have had enough of its negligent handling of our affairs. The tolerance for our officials' flippant and arrogant responses to critical issues is waning. The culture of slackness in some areas of the public service, which we pointed to last week, would only be addressed if there are clear messages that those responsible for abuse are held to account.

Stain
Davis' communication on the BAMSI fiasco last Wednesday provided some information on this sordid affair. But it had too many holes. It was glaringly lacking in completeness and transparency. It is not enough for Davis to report that the file in his ministry does not tell him who took the decision to advance mobilization payments to the contractor without the requisite insurance. He also reported that the file does not tell him what intervention, if any, was made to ensure that this requirement was met once identified, and why the contract, which has been substantially delayed, was allowed to continue without this critical requirement.

We refuse to accept that there is no evidence to confirm who authorized the release of public money without all requirements being in place. Is Davis suggesting someone took this information out of the file, or was it never there? The contractor told the media he had insurance with a company whose existence we have yet to confirm.

At what point will the DPM report to the public that Hanna has been fired as a BAMSI contractor? Neither Davis nor Prime Minister Perry Christie should feel comfortable that this matter is settled. It is not. It has become a stain on the Christie administration.

Christie previously labeled this a "teachable experience". We now know that the lesson could cost the Bahamian people as much as $5.5 million. It is also confusing, and even bizarre, that the government is now, at this stage, choosing to change the design of the dorm, which has in part resulted in the original cost nearly doubling. The contractor has already said he does not know where the money will come from to cover his $2.5 million liability.

The Bahamian people, once again, have gotten shafted. The only ones who will be left to pay the price are the taxpayers.
This contemptible failure within the Ministry of Works and the manner in which this matter has been handled has fed the growing discontent toward this government.

As the prime minister has done on many occasions in responding to scandals that have rocked his administration, Davis missed the point in the kind of tone he set with his communication. He accused the opposition of going on a "fishing expedition" at BAMSI.

"Not one word did they utter about BAMSI having already established 68 acres of banana, papaya, plantain, peanut, coconut, and lime crop in the ground and moving the economy," said Davis, in his criticisms of the opposition.

He talked about BAMSI representing "tangible and meaningful steps toward realizing a long-held dream of food production, independence, and security for our country". And he spoke about the economic boon he claims BAMSI has created in North Andros.

What Davis and the government should understand is that no reasonable minded Bahamian, even the most partisan, is against us feeding ourselves. What many Bahamians are demanding is accountability from this administration, not an arrogant disregard for how public funds are expended. Davis called these demands "the distraction of chatter concerning the fire". But his downplaying of the seriousness of the matter will likely worsen the impact of the scandal for the Christie administration.

The need for sustainable local food production is widely accepted. However, the execution of this government's plan to meet this need is woeful. We have not even seen a business plan for BAMSI, and we have not gotten a proper accounting of the expenditure to date on the project. Under pressure from the media and the Official Opposition, Davis finally tabled the contract for the BAMSI male dorm.

Davis also tabled a letter Permanent Secretary Colin Higgs wrote the contractor on February 6, 2014.

Higgs advised, "A mobilization payment will be processed as soon as we receive a copy of your business license, all-risk insurance and National Insurance compliance letter as required in the contract."

Davis also tabled the mobilization payment certificate routing sheet, dated February 11, 2014. The mobilization payment was $520,000. The document includes signatures in the spaces for the section head, the deputy director, the director, an official in the Payment Certificate Unit and an official in the accounts department. The document outlines the requirements for the release of the mobilization payment. The actual mobilization payment certificate tabled by Davis was signed by project officer Livingstone Forbes and quantity surveyor Larry Bastian.

Davis should go further. He should provide a full accounting on the other BAMSI projects. Did they have insurance at the time those contracts were executed? Is there evidence of this? Where are those contracts? They too should be scrutinized.

In the face of rising demands on our salaries, more Bahamians are demanding a more accountable government. They are becoming less tolerant of government officials who treat them with disdain while behaving as though they are spending their own money and not public funds.

In addition to the BAMSI debacle, Davis also has the still-unexplained letter of intent (LOI) saga under his belt. He is also the minister presiding over spectacular failures of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation.
So while Davis sees these demands for accountability as "the distraction of chatter", he should be mindful that widespread discontent toward the government could spell doom for his own political fortunes.

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