The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Public Service Union President John Pinder yesterday blamed the National Insurance Board for the “terrible” mould infestation and “deterioration” at the Department of Public Service, which he said was caused by “shabby work” by NIB’s private contractors.

Mr Pinder said the mould infestation throughout the Poinciana Hill complex on Meeting Street, which houses both the Department of Public Service and the Ministry of Health, is so bad that public service officials now have to make a decision on letting the staff work half days “until such time as they can find a building where they can relocate.”

The mould infestation, Mr Pinder said, has been lingering for over two years, despite an assessment from the Ministry of Environment then advising that the matter should be dealt with. He said the mould infestation is so bad that one of the male bathrooms on the ground floor of the Department of Public Service hasn’t been in use for two years.

“It’s really bad on the first floor of the Department of Public Service, but throughout the Ministry of Health, that second floor is really terrible,” Mr Pinder added.

“And so it has to do with when they were repairing the roof, apparently whoever did the work to the roof, did a real shabby job and water was seeping through, and so it created mould and mildew.”

Mr Pinder said he spoke to NIB officials as recently as November about the matter.

They told him that they needed six months to conduct the repairs with an aim to starting the process in December, something he said that never happened.

As a result, Mr Pinder said he subsequently spoke with the permanent secretary at the Department of Public Service, who then informed him of her intent to relocate the staff until the infestation was dealt with. He said his team was also asked to assist in finding accommodations for the various employees.

“My thing is, NIB is the landlord, and NIB is responsible for the deterioration of the building in terms of hiring a shabby contractor who did the work on the roof,” Mr Pinder said.

“So they should have been the ones responsible for the accommodations and not the public service, because it’s their building that needs repairs.

“And it’s not in disrepair because of the staff - it’s shabby work by whoever they contracted to do the roof. Normally people blame it on the Ministry of Works. But in this case, NIB hires private contractors to do their work and take care of their building.”