The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE Urban Renewal 2.0 programme is set to become an independent authority with the ability to grant loans for small home repairs and social projects, according to legislation tabled in Parliament yesterday.

Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis yesterday lauded the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) Bill 2016 as a “step in the right direction” that seeks to remove “bureaucratic inertia” and increase the transparency of the community-based assistance programme.

It gives the minister with responsibility for Urban Renewal, in this case Mr Davis, the ability to designate an urban community by order.

“The concept of loans is new to Urban Renewal,” Mr Davis said in the House of Assembly. “This key feature will allow the Authority to grant loans, cancel or modify approval of loans, refuse to advance an outstanding loan, suspend payment of principal and interest, examine the use of the loan and to require repayment following an examination.”

He said: “The [bill] facilitates transparency as it provides any member of the board to disclose any interest in a company or other entity with which the Authority proposes to enter into a contact or otherwise transact business.”

The URA Bill comes on the heels of the damning report by the Public Accounts Committee into the Urban Renewal Commission tabled earlier this month, which found that the programme was “severely lacking in accountability” with “minimal fiscal safeguards”.

The PAC probe focused on the Urban Renewal Commission’s (URC) Small Homes Repair (SHR) programme - an initiative about which Auditor General Terrance Bastian last year highlighted a litany of concerns and weaknesses related to the project’s management and expenditure.

Mr Davis said both reports have strengthened the government’s resolve to institutionalise Urban Renewal.

The Authority will be able to procure and manage funding for facilitating various urban renewal social programmes; and approve policies and procedures for the conduct of small home repairs and approve the completion of repairs. The bill establishes a register of approved contractors, with the board responsible for setting standards.

“The auditor general cited the magnitude and scope of the Urban Renewal programme as an ‘ambitious undertaking’ and, interestingly, the main issues arising from the audit turn on the measure for the bureaucracy that intrinsically belongs to the government.”

Mr Davis said: “This ambitious undertaking fully recognised bureaucratic inertia as a challenge to its ideal and, by executive decision, Urban Renewal has been set apart to meet its mandate with a sense of urgency and, when necessary, immediacy.

“This immediate response to the challenges of the poor, the disenfranchised, the unemployed, parents with at-risk youth and children, and the elderly cannot be achieved within the trappings of our bureaucracy,” he said.

According to the bill, the maximum sum of loans granted will be fixed by the minister, with varying terms and rates to be set by the Authority “having regard to the financial considerations of the particular loan and the public interest.” The loans will be granted by the Urban Renewal Authority board of directors, the governing body of the Authority.

Before making payments, the Authority can withhold the loan or a portion of it without incurring liability, according to the bill, if it believes that approval was granted to the borrower by way of misrepresentation or if circumstances given have “materially altered”. The bill outlines several circumstances under which the Authority can refuse to advance loan instalments, including: unpaid loan; improper use or ill-timed use of funds; borrower insolvency; and breach of loan conditions.

The Authority can get ministerial approval to write off loans once it can prove that all measures for recovery have been exhausted.

Upon granting a loan, the Authority may require financial statements and conduct routine examinations to ensure the loan is being used for the purpose under which it was granted.

Any borrowers who refuse to comply with reporting requirements is liable to a $300 fine with an additional penalty of $100 for each subsequent day of non-compliance after conviction.

The bill read: “Every loan shall be secured by way of the execution in favour of the Authority of a legal instrument as the Authority determines, which shall be prepared by the Authority at the expense of the borrower.”

The Authority will be required to submit an annual report to the minister no later than September 30 that details the body’s activities over that year, and expands on the accomplishments and challenges encountered in the execution of short, medium and long term goals.

That report should be tabled in both the Lower and Upper House, and gazetted no later than three months after it was received by the minister.

The bill also mandates that the Authority’s accounts be audited within three months after the end of each financial year.

The bill also contains a secrecy clause that prohibits officials from disclosing any information related to the affairs of the Authority, its clients or any person that has “dealings” with the body. Board members, officers, or employees found guilty of such a breach - by way of communication or access to records or documents - is subject to a fine of $2,000 or imprisonment for a year.

Urban Renewal 2.0 has offices on New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Cat Island, and Eleuthera. Yesterday, Mr Davis said offices have been approved for Bimini, Exuma, and Andros.