The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE tender process the National Insurance Board followed before engaging the services of Holiday Industrial Builders International Ltd to construct a building on John F Kennedy Drive was detailed and diligent, a press statement from NIB Director Rowena Bethel said yesterday.

The statement also said the $20m contract price for the building was “consistent” with current industry rates for similar construction.

The statement came a day after opposition Shadow Minister for Immigration Hubert Chipman raised concerns about whether a conflict of interest existed in the awarding of the contract. Mr Chipman pointed to instances where Shane Gibson, Labour Minister with responsibility for National Insurance, has emphatically defended HIBI head Rev Lloyd Smith, the man who officiated at the funerals of show girl Anna Nicole Smith and Mr Gibson’s father, King Eric Gibson.

Mr Chipman also raised questions about Mr Smith’s Bahamian citizenship.

According to Ms Bethel, four contractors were invited for pre-qualification process to determine who would be awarded the contract to construct a building for the Ministry of National Security which would be a replica of the building that currently houses the Offices of the Attorney General.

Those companies included Pyramid Construction Company Limited, Ranmar Precision Development Company Limited, Buildex Construction Company Limited and HIBI.

After the companies submitted their pre-qualification documents to the quantity surveyor (QS), the QS “performed a pre-qualification analysis and submitted a report thereon in October 2013,” the statement said.

It added that an invitation to tender was issued to pre-qualified contractors and sealed tender documents were submitted to the NIB director’s office which were opened in the presence of several NIB officials.

“Tender documents were submitted to QS for evaluation and the QS subsequently recommended Holiday Industrial Builders International Ltd,” the statement said.

It added that the NIB received a letter from the Ministry of Works which said the figures presented by the QS on the value of the replica building were consistent with current industry rates for similar construction.

“The Contract and Tenders Committee recommended that the contract be awarded to Holiday Industrial Builders International Ltd subject to ratification by the board of directors and statutorily mandated ministerial approval,” the statement said.

It added that subsequently, the recommendation of the committee was sent to the board of directors to engage HIBI in the construction of the proposed replica building, “subject to ministerial approval.”

The statement said: “At the meeting of the National Insurance Board held on Thursday, November 28, 2013, the board of directors ratified the decision of the Contract and Tenders Committee, subject to ministerial approval. Subsequently, approvals for the board of director’s decision were sought, and obtained, from the minister (as statutorily required) and the Cabinet.”

The statement added that NIB’s records show that the first construction contract awarded to a company in which Lloyd Smith was principal, was Holiday Development Construction Limited. The contract was awarded in November 1994 for the construction of a local office in New Providence on the original Central Highway Inn property on Wulff Road.

“This building currently houses the Wulff Road Local Office,” the statement said.

HIBI’s controversial contract has grabbed headlines over the past few months and criticism from the FNM.

In 2004, under the first Christie administration, the company was awarded a $5.8 million contract to build what is now the Office of the Attorney General on John F Kennedy Drive. In 2008, the Ingraham administration cancelled the contract. Mr Gibson has said the former government cancelled the contract without cause and that the then government awarded a new contract to Jones Construction Company without going to tender.