The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE government has been forced to spend thousands from the public purse in relicensing and overtime pay fees to correct several of the discs and decals on its vehicles after outsourcing the work to a local firm, The Tribune understands.

Well placed sources at the Road Traffic Department claimed that Deloitte and Touche Bahamas and the government entered into a $180,000 contract for handling the licensing of all government vehicles. The process, the insider said, usually takes place before April 1 of each year.

Just six months later, The Tribune was told that several of the discs and decals have faded. It is believed that the firm did not use the correct printing ink.

“The cry was that the discs were fading,” the source said, “I am not entirely sure of how many of them were fading but they have to be redone. It is very possible that the correct ink was not used. So a lot of the vehicles are just riding around with just white paper and all the information is gone.

“I am also informed that the firm did not use the correct formula to do the right licensing according to vehicle size.”

When Deloitte was contacted, The Tribune was transferred by a secretary to the voice mail of Lawrence Lewis, a partner at the company. A message was left on his direct line, but no calls were returned up to press time.

However, Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin denied that any personnel at Road Traffic were working over time or being paid to do so to correct the situation.

In addition she said that the outsourcing was a pilot programme by the Ministry of Finance in an effort to cut down on the strain placed on workers at Road Traffic to license such a large fleet of vehicles.

She said: “I was informed that there were issues with some of the discs and I can confirm that there were reports of the same. A firm was contracted to do the work. The intention was to alleviate heavy licensing traffic at the Department. So the Ministry of Finance undertook a pilot programme.

“But I can tell you that if it is found that the company was contracted to do a certain amount of work and they did not, the government will be ensuring that they correct the problem.”

Mrs Hanna-Martin’s explanation does not sit well with FNM Deputy leader Loretta Butler Turner. She questioned whether the Minister was in total control of the Transport and Aviation Ministry.

“In these cash strapped times,” Mrs Butler Turner said, “it is totally unacceptable for the government to double spend on something that they did not have to. It is a dangerous thing to have these vehicles driving around without proper discs on them.”

She further called on the government to clarify why the Ministry of Finance had not announced its plans to the public to launch such a pilot programme.