Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works Philip Brave Davis said the government is not contemplating creating a regulator for contractors because, as he put it, the industry is multidisciplined. Either infractions or recognition, Davis said, will be regulated by the various disciplines. That is the intent of the draft construction bill, at any rate.

Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) President Leonard Sands has suggested that successive governments have dragged their feet on creating a regulator for that industry, but Davis told Guardian Business the draft legislation handles much of the work of a regulator.

"The draft construction bill contemplates disciplinary proceedings being conducted by the industry. Recognizing that the industry is multidisciplined, infractions or recognition will be regulated by the various disciplines," Davis said.

"In the context of the industry 'regulator' is compendious," he said. "Many disciplines are engaged in the industry. Apart from the carpenters, masons, etc., there are the architects, engineers of various disciplines (civil, structural electrical) then quantity surveyors and more."

"A number of the disciplines are legislatively governed, and the terms of the legislation regulate the profession," Davis added.

Meanwhile, Sands, whose association has been pressing for decades to become the regulator for the sector, has expressed dismay that the government has not sought to consult with the BCA regarding the hundreds of homes needing to be rebuilt and repaired in the southern Bahamas following Hurricane Joaquin.

"We are outside looking in," he said. "There is no involvement with the umbrella organization that is responsible for all the contractors, all the big guys and all the small guys."

Sands pointed out that lawyers, architects and even arbitrators must be certified by professional boards before being allowed to practice in The Bahamas.

The government has set up a recovery and reassessment unit - its technical director being former Ministry of Works Director Melanie Roach - to coordinate the assessment and repair of the hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged by Joaquin. The unit is led by Jack Thompson and began its assessment work last week.

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