The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE,

NEIL HARTNELL and

RICARDO WELLS

RENEW Bahamas yesterday confirmed it is in “active” talks with the Government to alter the terms of its five-year landfill management contract, after “substantial” losses showed its original financial projections were invalid.

Gerhard Beukes, Renew Bahamas’ chief executive and president, told Tribune Business that change was essential if the New Providence landfill manager was to have a viable business going forward, as it had “lost millions of dollars” to date.

Mr Beukes also revealed that the company could lose up to $750,000 in revenue as a result of the latest landfill fire, which had damaged a key component of its materials recycling operation.

Predicting that this facility could be out of action for six to eight weeks, the Renew Bahamas chief said it now had “a better understanding” of what a viable landfill management operation requires.

The financial issues came to light after the FNM yesterday revealed an e-mail sent by Renew Bahamas to one of its vendors, informing them that it was unable to make payment in full for services rendered until there was a “resolution” to the discussions with the Christie administration.

The e-mail, sent by Sarah Beukes of Renew Bahamas on Tuesday to James McPhee, of EJ’s Trucking and Heavy Duty Equipment, said: “We can make an interim payment today on this invoice, with another one to follow as soon as we get resolution from the Government.

“Please know that we are not in a position to settle in full today; this is the case across all our suppliers, while we wait for the Government.”

The FNM described the e-mail as “extremely troubling”, given the landfill’s frequent fires and other problems, and urged the Government to “come clean” and fully disclose the original contract with Renew Bahamas.

The company said it hired Mr McPhee following the most recent round of fires to carry out trucking services at the New Providence landfill.

Yesterday, Mr McPhee presented the email to The Tribune in full, along with the two outstanding invoices between his company and Renew. According to the documents, EJ’s Trucking and Heavy Duty Equipment are owed a total of $26,675.

On Tuesday, Mr McPhee was given a $3,000 cheque, with the outstanding amounts being owed once ongoing discussions with the Christie administration ended.

“I have never signed a deal with the government. My deal was with Renew. Whatever is going on between them should not affect the contractual obligations Renew Bahamas has with me,” Mr McPhee said.

He claimed that he has been “burned” in a similar manner, alleging that the defunct Baha Mar project resulted in him not being paid thousands owed to him. “I don’t want this to be like that. I lost money then, and I don’t intend to lose money now,” he added.

Renew Bahamas’ attempt after only two years to renegotiate its contract, which runs until 2019, is likely to be a further blow to the Christie administration, which is already under public pressure over the recurring landfill fires – and the associated environmental, health and economic impact on nearby communities and businesses.

While confirming that the company is trying to renegotiate its management contract, Mr Beukes denied it had laid-off any of its 124 employees.

“Yes, we have been in discussions with the Government. We haven’t laid-off anyone; that has not happened,” he said. “What we are asking government to consider is to change the financial terms of our arrangement. We have lost millions of dollars. Our financial situation is not good.

“What we are trying to do is change the profile of the contract, which means that we would be a viable business going forward. There are some ideas we are working on to ensure that a significant piece of ownership is transferred to Bahamians.”

While not disclosing any figures, Mr Beukes described Renew Bahamas’ losses to-date as “substantial”.

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