A leading businessman and civic leader yesterday charged that the prime minister’s recent pledge to provide construction concessions for first-time homeowners would be very difficult to manage and fraught with fraud and corruption if it’s not properly thought through by all stakeholders.
During a rally on Friday, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said if he is given a second term in office a Free National Movement (FNM) government would commit to removing taxes and duty on building materials, furniture and large and small appliances for all first-time Bahamian homeowners constructing an owner-occupied dwelling [valued] at $300,000 or less.
CEO of Caribbean Group Bahamas Robert Myers, who is also the head of the Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG) and has also served as president of the Bahamas Contractors Association, said while homeownership should be a significant objective for all governments, this particular incentive would create a plethora of issues.
“I can assure you that this incentive will be very difficult to manage and fraught with fraud and corruption if it’s not properly thought through by all stakeholders and managed accordingly,” he told Guardian Business yesterday.
“And one thing is for sure, it will not improve the ease of doing business.”
Regarding the removal of duties, Myers questioned, “If a builder/contractor is building these homes then who applies for the duty free concession and how will the Customs Department track what materials are being imported for what home? Assumably, a builder/contractor could be building multiple homes throughout the island, not all of which would benefit from this incentive, so how then will Customs determine what materials are for what job?
“To make it more complicated, what happens when a contractor ships multiple materials on one shipping trailer for multiple jobs? You will likely have incidents where a shipment contains two bundles of plywood on a bill of lading, but only 30 pieces may be for duty free homes. This incentive will open the door to a tremendous amount of fraud and Customs corruption.”
The ORG principal pointed out that neither the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) nor FNM governments properly established the Construction Contracting Board and required committees and licensing requirements, noted within the Construction Contracting Act.
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