The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE United States’ scathing 2014 Investment Climate report on the Bahamas reflected the sentiments of ordinary Bahamians and should not have been a surprise to the Christie administration, a former Cabinet Minister said yesterday.

Brent Symonette, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration under the previous Ingraham administration, pointed to the controversy surrounding the granting of contracts which has brought to light issues of transparency and accountability with the government.

He was speaking in direct response to the report’s admission that government issued contracts, were “problematic”.

“I don’t think the government of the Bahamas,” Mr Symonette said, “should be surprised or upset about the United States report. If you really look at this, it is not unusual for the US to do these kinds of reports.

“The report cited anecdotal evidence and that is what they use from time to time. In my opinion that anecdotal evidence reflects what a number of people in this country think. The press has reported on a few of those contract issues, but the problem is the concerns all seem to just vanish into thin air. And then the government always seems to suggest that this and that update will be coming next week. But when it never happens no one says anything. For that reason alone, I don’t think they should be surprised.”

The US report said that successive administrations have reneged on or renegotiated contracts executed by previous administrations.

“Over the last year, the Embassy has received several complaints from US companies alleging a lack of transparency and undue government interference with bidding and procurement processes.”

Issuing contracts, the report said, “lacks transparency” because there was no requirement to engage in open public tenders and awarded decisions are not subject to challenge or review.

In recent times, the public eye has been drawn to a decision by the government to again award Holiday Industrial Builders International (HIBI) a contract to build a replica of a project which was previously terminated under the FNM government in 2008. HIBI was this year awarded the contract to construct a new building for the Ministry of National Security on John F Kennedy Drive, with Lloyd Smith as the general contractor.

Additionally, concerns have surfaced over what critics called the “secretive” process which led the government to award Renew Bahamas a contract to remediate the New Providence Landfill.

Yesterday, Democratic National Alliance leader Branville McCartney criticised the government’s response to the report and said it was proof that the Christie administration was not serious about moving the country forward.

He said: “They are not progressive at all. Rather than protecting our developing democracy, we have seen the PLP attack such fundamental principles by encouraging gross nepotism, cronyism and rank victimisation.

“The time has long come in the country’s development for the government to finally give serious consideration to the calls for Freedom of Information as well as a Code of Conduct for public officials. The immediate implementation of such legislation will usher in greater levels of responsibility among those in public office.”

Last week, Prime Minister Perry Christie expressed disappointment at the report saying it only used what “opposition sources” were saying and did not give an objective assessment of the Progressive Liberal Party government.

Mr Christie said: “I am satisfied that those who sat and wrote the report for the state department made obvious mistakes in writing that report. It’s important that I do not allow the emphasis we’re placing on developing our country to be misconstrued by people who might just happen to read a paper and not have a full understanding of what is taking place and the effort we are making as a government across the board.”