The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net MANY smaller Bahamian contractors are struggling to find work, with one telling Tribune Business yesterday they "can't even get crumbs from the table". One contractor, speaking under condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business: "We have guys who get jobs under the table, through relationships with other people and various government agencies, and they don't really know what they are doing. "You do have shoddy workmanship, especially in the areas of government low-cost housing projects. The people who can do the work don't usually get the jobs. You don't have very many guys who are professionals in the industry." He added: "The small contractors really aren't treated fairly. Small contractors, in my opinion, don't really stand a chance in getting the big jobs. The banks, for one, really don't help them with financing. The people who have these projects already know who they are going to give the contracts to. All they do is ask the small contractor for a price to say that they gave them an opportunity to bid. It's a funny situation, because you can't really tell people who they must hire. Small contractors can't really get crumbs from the master's table, so to speak." Bahamas Contractors Association (BCA) president, Godfrey Forbes, in a recent interview with Tribune Business, said many smaller Bahamian contractors do not support the (BCA or its push for legislation to regulate the industry. The BCA chief said the absence of the legislative framework/regulations contained in the proposed Contractors Bill meant many of the problems experienced by the Government-funded housing programme were likely to reoccur. Edward Mortimer, head of Mortimer's Construction Company, agreed that regulations were necessary as there were many within the industry who were giving contractors a bad name. "We should have regulations to the industry. We are having problems because it isn't regulated. You have a lot of guys today doing half-way jobs and giving contractors a bad name. You have some guys putting in bids that are too low and they can only take the jobs so far, and then they leave the job incomplete. We need some regulation particularly as it relates to that," Mr Mortimer said.