The Tribune

By Neil Hartnell

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Opposition's leader last night called for the Prime Minister to investigate as he doubled down on accusations that public servants, government contractors/vendors and the Family Islands are suffering "out of the ordinary" payment delays.

Michael Pintard told Tribune Business that the volume, and breadth, of complaints and concerns being voiced to himself and other Opposition members is "too widespread for him [Philip Davis KC] to ignore" despite denials from a Cabinet minister that the Government is facing cash flow challenges.

Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, could not be reached for further comment last night, and did not respond to this newspaper's messages before press time last night, but in speaking to other media he refuted all claims of a government cash crunch and accused the Opposition of "preaching gloom and doom" for political purposes. He also asserted that the Government is meeting all its obligations, and is not broke.

However, Mr Pintard last night refused to back down as he told this newspaper he had written to Mr Davis on the matter requesting that he investigate the Government's payment delays. The Free National Movement (FNM) leader asserted that he had given the Prime Minister "very concrete examples" to back-up his concerns, including late salary deductions being paid on civil servants' behalf to financial institutions to service loan, insurance and pension obligations.

Kimsley Ferguson, the Bahamas Public Services Union's (BPSU) president, appeared to corroborate Mr Pintard's assertions earlier this week when he alleged that dues and premiums for persons who are members of the union's medical plan have been late around three times. "We are satisfied through information received that the Treasury is making selective payments to particular entities, and so it suggests to us that there is indeed a cash flow problem in our country," he added.

Mr Halkitis, though, said Mr Ferguson's concerns had not come to the Government's attention. He added that it was paying all its bills in the ordinary course of business as soon as it could verify that the goods and services that are the subject of invoices have been provided as required.

Mr Pintard, though, last night reiterated that the Opposition is not referring to what he called "ordinary delays" in the Government paying its bills as a result of having to undertake such verification exercises. "What he failed to do is address whether there are any unusual delays," the Opposition leader said of Mr Halkitis' response. "He should say definitively whether there are any unusual delays.

Asked what examples he had referred to in his letter to Mr Davis, Mr Pintard replied: "We cited a public sector credit union that has had several months of delay, which is adversely affecting customers. It puts its members in a very adverse position given the penchant for companies to sometimes cancel or lapse a person's pension or insurance.

"They're concerned about the accrual of interest with late payments and arrears. These are things we are concerned about." Mr Pintard did not confirm whether he was referring to the same situation as Mr Ferguson, the BPSU president.

However, he said he had also cited to Mr Davis alleged delays in payments to contractors and skilled tradespersons participating in the Urban Renewal Home Repair programme in Grand Bahama, some of whom have been waiting for monies purportedly since July. And he also referred to late payments to the Family Island offices of government agencies and ministries, which has delayed their ability to meet their obligations to residents.

Referring to the Home Repair initiative, the Opposition leader said: "These are not large contractors. They're paying in bits and pieces. We have numerous small contractors who are complaining. There are also persons who get assistance from social services. Some funds come quarterly, some come monthly, and sometimes they're told by staff members that money has not arrived so they cannot settle certain matters."

"It is across the board at so many different agencies with sub-contractors, vendors who provide goods to government ministries, various islands that wait for government payments in tranches, so persons are unable to get assistance from government agencies on this island," Mr Pintard told Tribune Business. "This appears to be out of the ordinary.

"We need the Prime Minister to answer specifically on those particular areas we identified for him... We want him to investigate the reason for the delays, then to fix whatever the challenges are and if there's a need to have a substantial conversation with the public on the challenges the Government is facing. We certainly need his intervention. It is too widespread for him to ignore...

"I think they're having some shortfalls, and the Prime Minister may be able to explain it, but don't deny the reality when persons are unable to be paid and are not being paid on time." Mr Pintard said he had been informed by one institution that it has sufficient reserves to apply to customer accounts, and avoid them incurring any late fees or policy cancellations, while the salary deductions are awaited from the Government.

The Opposition leader, though, questioned how others not enjoying the same robust financial position are able to cope while they await payment from the Public Treasury. "Not every organisation has an overdraft or reserves they can turn to, so there's a domino or ripple effect on persons expecting to get money in the normal course of business for the Government," Mr Pintard said.