The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday that Renew Bahamas was selected to remediate the New Providence Landfill after Bahamian-owned companies conceded that they could not match the deal the foreign-owned company made with the government. 

He subsequently dismissed concerns that choosing the company over a Bahamian-owned waste management company contradicts the government’s “Believe in Bahamians” mantra.

His statements came after concerns were raised over the “secretive” process that led the government to award Renew Bahamas with a contract to address long-standing issues at the city dump.

“What I know about that process is that there were a number of initiatives and proposals put to government to remediate the landfill but they wanted to remediate and then move from waste to energy,” Mr Davis said. “All the proposals contained a waste and energy end result.

“When this proposal (from Renew Bahamas) came to the government, which was devoid of the end result of energy, I’m advised that the Prime Minister met with a number of Bahamian interested parties or persons and spoke to them about what the government is intending to do. And I’m advised that they were satisfied that what the government intended to do was in fact something they could not match or they did not wish to.”

After the last general election, Renew Bahamas was formed and registered by Davis & Co, Mr Davis’ law firm. This led some to question whether a conflict of interest existed in the selection of the company.

Mr Davis yesterday dismissed the concern. “It came to my attention that the firm that I once was active in incorporated the company and I’m not aware that my firm acted for them in their quest to get the contract that they got. They were not a part of that.”

The Free National Movement (FNM), the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), private sector businessmen and representatives of Bahamian-owned waste management companies have raised concerns about the process that led the government to award the contract to Renew Bahamas.

Mr Davis dismissed those, saying, “I’ve not seen any concerns about the fact that a contract was awarded to Renew Bahamas without the job going up for public tendering.”

Last month, FNM Deputy Chairman Dr Duane Sands said: “You would think something of this magnitude, when you’re talking about waste management, would have had some type of public disclosure.”

Ginny McKinney, a principal in the waste management company Waste Not, also told The Tribune that her company invested over $500,000 in consultant fees for the drafting of its proposal, adding that the company was willing to adjust its proposal to accommodate the government’s demands.

A representative of another company, Dynamis Energy, also emailed The Tribune last month to express dissatisfaction about the process that led to Renew Bahamas’ selection.

“I am part of a company - Dynamis Energy– that bid on the ‘waste to energy’ (contract) to handle the city dump,” the representative from Dynamis Energy said. “We sat numerous times in (Mr) Davis’ office discussing this situation with him and he knew full well that he was going to take this over. The government did not even have the decency to write a letter to all of the companies that worked hard to submit bids on this project.  Another scandal and lack of transparency where our government is concerned.”

In addition, the chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), Robert Myers, reportedly told The Nassau Guardian last month that the government’s contracting of Renew Bahamas to take over the landfill without a tendering process provided “another strong argument for a transparent process and the need for a Freedom of Information Act.”