The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A former Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) president yesterday expressed hope that moves to regulate the sector will help “salvage” the 50 per cent market portion seized by foreigners.

Stephen Wrinkle, speaking to Tribune Business after Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis finally brought the Construction Contractors Bill 2016 to Parliament, said Bahamians would enjoy “a big boost” if they could recover half the market share gained by their foreign counterparts.

He explained that the Bill’s requirement for all contractors to possess a Bahamian construction licence would create an obstacle to unregulated foreign contractors coming into this market and taking business from locals.

“There are a lot of foreign persons here under the guise of consultants that are acting as contractors, and building these houses behind these gated communities,” Mr Wrinkle told Tribune Business.

He described the issue as “a significant problem”, especially in the high-end residential communities of western New Providence, and added: “They’re putting us out of business.”

Rather than act as the lead or general contractor on such projects, Mr Wrinkle added that Bahamians were having to settle for lesser roles, such as sub-contractors and providers of labour, to “foreign consultants”.

“They have no risk, no liability, no insurance, no nothing,” he said. “It creates a truly uneven playing field.”

When asked how much business such practices were costing Bahamian contractors, Mr Wrinkle replied: “It could be as much as 50 per cent of the industry being taken away by this type of activity, particularly at this time when the construction industry is at a low ebb.

“It’s disheartening. The local housing market is devastated, and the only market sustaining the industry is the second home market for foreigners. When this is cornered by people not regulated by the industry at home, it hurts everyone.”

Mr Wrinkle said construction project owners “often put the foreign contractor up in their home, and feed and clothe them.

“That’s taking work from bona fide Bahamian contractors,” he added, “and that has to stop, particularly in this economic climate, when we have to take every legal measure we can to protect our industry,

“If we can salvage 25 per cent of the market lost to foreigners, that will be a big boost to the local economy. We’re currently not doing anyone any favours except them. I can’t go to Florida without certification, insurance and a valid business licence. Why can they come here and do it? We have to protect our industry.”

Mr Wrinkle said he was optimistic that the licensing and regulatory provisions in the new Bill, tabled for its first reading in the House of Assembly, would both catch and deter unregulated foreign contractors from operating in the Bahamas.

“This Bill requires every contractor to possess a Bahamian Contractor’s Licence to construct, renovate and remodel,” he added. The licensing system has four grades, ranging from contractors able to construct single family homes to those that can build hotels.

Efforts to pass the Contractors Bill have spanned three administrations, two of PLP vintage and one FNM.

The Bill, if passed, will introduce a system of licensing and self-regulation, where Bahamian contractors would be certified according to their qualifications and scale/scope of work they are capable of undertaking.

It also includes provisions giving Bahamian consumers means of redress against shoddy workmanship and other frequent complaints made about Bahamian contractors.

And it will also help to ‘level the playing field’ between Bahamian and foreign contractors, allowing the former to better compete for - and gain a greater share of - the work stemming from multi-million dollar foreign direct investment (FDI) projects.

Mr Davis yesterday told the House of Assembly that “Bahamian consumers have been exposed to a dangerously under-regulated industry”, and problems created by “unscrupulous contractors, poor workmanship and cost overruns”.

Mr Davis said construction was one of the largest, and most important, industries in the Bahamas, and estimated to account for 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

He added that to become licensed, contractors would need a valid Business Licence and to resolve any outstanding complaints.

“Praise the Lord. That’s further than we have ever got before,” was how Mr Wrinkle reacted to the Bill’s tabling in the House of Assembly. “It’s a significant step in the right direction.

“This is something we’ve been fighting for for 30 years. Hopefully, it will be passed, and we will see a drastic change in the construction industry. This Bill, for the first time in the history of the country, will license, regulate and control the contracting construction industry.

“We currently have a tremendous problem with unlicensed and unregulated persons practising in the industry and acting as general contractors. It’s having a huge impact.”

Mr Wrinkle added that the Bill would hold contractors accountable for their actions as part of enhanced consumer protection safeguards.

“We’ll see a lot more adherence to standards and best practices in operations and procedures,” he told Tribune Business.

“It will create a more level playing field in the bidding and tendering process, as contractors will be held accountable for the contract. Instead of not finishing and demanding more money, they will be mandated to finish or their licence will be pulled.”

Mr Wrinkle continued: “The Bill is not designed to keep any Bahamian out of the industry. It is designed to protect Bahamians wanting to participate in the industry, and protect consumers that want to use a good contractor.

“There are clauses that protect consumers from shoddy work and being abandoned by the contractor. There are a lot of good things for the Bahamian consumer and public, and they should welcome it. People who short cut will be able to stay in the game. They will be weeded out by this moving forward.”