The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Opposition's leader yesterday pledged to "leave no stone unturned" in holding the Government accountable while asserting that the Public Accounts Committee is now "rolling" into action.

Michael Pintard, speaking after Cabinet ministers read out written answers to multiple questions posed by the Opposition during the House of Assembly sitting, told Tribune Business that Parliament's public spending watchdog is due to question Luther Smith, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Works and Utilities, at 10am this morning.

"Things are rolling with the Public Accounts Committee," he said. "We're going to be putting questions to Luther Smith tomorrow [today]. Some of them revolve around not just the Water & Sewerage Corporation but Bahamas Power & Light (BPL). We're not going to leave any stone unturned with trying to get them [the Government] to be accountable and transparent. We're going to come at them from multiple angles."

The Public Accounts Committee, whose main function is to scrutinise government spending, is the only parliamentary select committee on which the Opposition holds a majority and can thus seek to set the agenda. While Mr Pintard's move to replace Long Island MP, Adrian Gibson, with fellow FNM member, Iram Lewis, drew much attention yesterday, the Opposition leader said he was "looking forward to sitting" with Mr Smith.

Promising to make as many committee hearings as possible open to attendance by the public, Mr Pintard added: "We are going to look at opening things up going forward. Our goal is to make this as open as possible for the public to observe the work that is taking place."

He spoke as the Prime Minister accused the former Minnis administration, in which Mr Pintard was a member, of "a cynical attempt.. to appear to be fiscally responsible" by bringing the Public Procurement Act into legal effect just three weeks before his government took office on September 22, 2021.

Philip Davis KC, in responding to numerous Opposition questions related to public procurement, argued that the Act had been left "unworkable in many respects" on its implementation due to what he described as "hastily designed provisions". His administration has since unveiled a new Bill designed to remedy these deficiencies, which has already been tabled in Parliament and subsequently circulated for wider stakeholder consultation.

Responding to questions from Mr Pintard, who called on the Prime Minister to explain why the Government "continues to break the law" surrounding the publication of public contract awards and their values, Mr Davis said the Act "came into force in the middle of a [general election] campaign" despite being passed several months earlier.

"While the Government acknowledges the importance of compliance with the Act, it has been working diligently to address these issues since coming into office on September 22, 2021," Mr Davis said. "The Act was passed in a cynical attempt by the previous administration to appear to be fiscally responsible. It did not come into force until several months after it had been passed, just before the election.

"The provisions were hastily designed, and left the legislation unworkable in many respects. For example, the enabling resources and training to effect implementation were not in place. The Government has taken several steps to address the gaps in the procurement system, including tabling a revised Act, creating a procurement career path in the public service, and acquiring new procurement software.

"These measures are intended to ensure that all future procurement processes comply with the Public Procurement Act. The Government remains committed to transparency, accountability and good governance in all its activities and will work to ensure that all laws and regulations are applied appropriately."

Mr Pintard, though, was unimpressed by the answers received from the Prime Minister and his Cabinet ministers. "They were playing cute," he told this newspaper. "What they don't appreciate is we will take their answers, do the reviews and be back in the House shortly. Some of them did not answer the substantive part of their questions."

The Opposition leader took "another stab" at the issue last by reading before the House of Assembly questions concerning Bahamas Power & Light's (BPL) $150m unpaid arrears and the Government's borrowing of $232.3m in special drawing rights (SDRs) from the Central Bank.

As to the Prime Minister's Public Procurement Act reply, Mr Pintard said the Government was clearly non-compliant with provisions in the existing law that require the identities of winning bidders and the value of contracts be disclosed within 60 days of their award. This means that all contracts awarded between September 1, 2021, and December 21, 2022, should have been revealed publicly.

Few have, and the Opposition leader argued that the Government's non-compliance "sends the wrong message to a local and international audience" while also "undermining the moral message" when the Prime Minister calls on others to obey the law.

"Until such time as they change the law, they are required to comply with the law," Mr Pintard argued of the Government. "What are they trying to hide by failing to publish all the contracts they've been issuing to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars?"

Mr Davis, though, yesterday pledged that his administration is working with a consultant to finalise a report that will list the contracts entered into by the Government since the Act took effect. "The Ministry of Finance in conjunction with Go Bonfire is finalising the report listing contracts awarded by the Government. We aim to have the first edition published in due course," he added. "All ministries, departments, and agencies will be fully compliant."

The Prime Minister added that the Government has not appointed a Procurement Review Tribunal, as allowed for and called to by the existing Act, because it is "mindful" of the impending legislative reforms. And, while the Minnis administration had identified persons to serve on the Public Procurement Board, its successor did not proceed with their appointments due to concerns about the Board's structure.

"While the previous government had identified individuals to be appointed to the Public Procurement Board (PPB), these individuals were never formally appointed," Mr Davis said."After reviewing the Act, the current administration had serious concerns about the structure of the Public Procurement Board and decided that it was best not to proceed with the previous government's appointments."

Asserting that the procurement system in effect on September 1, 2021, did not capture all information on contract awards as required by the Act, the Prime Minister said of the Go Bonfire report: "The report will outline the steps to ensure compliance with the Act, including creating a procurement career path in the public service and acquiring new procurement software.

"The Government is committed to transparency and accountability in all its procurement processes. It will work to ensure that all future procurements are conducted in accordance with the Public Procurement Act. Once the report is completed, it will be laid on the table of the honourable house."

Taking further shots at the former administration, Mr Davis said: "Despite unprecedented levels of borrowing and expenditure, which left our national debt at more than 100 percent, the previous administration failed to properly and fully account for how billions of dollars of public money was spent, or who the recipients were of that spending......

"As per the law, all ministries, departments, and agencies are required to have a Tenders Board that reviews all procurement opportunities. If the value of the bid exceeds $250,000, it is then submitted to the procurement department for a no-objection review. This is in sharp contrast to the practices of the previous administration, under which many procurement arrangements remain obscure."