The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemeida.net

The Minister of Labour yesterday defended the Urban Renewal Small Home repairs programme, describing claims that taxpayers did not get value for money as “misleading and inaccurate”.

Speaking in Parliament on the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) minority report, which sought to paint a different picture than that given by the Auditor General and the PAC majority, Mr Gibson said their criticisms did not accurately reflect the value of the programme.

“It is unfortunate that I had to submit a minority report on the Public Accounts Committee’s investigation into the Urban Renewal Programme, particularly the Small Home repairs programme,” he said.

“The Committee conducted an extensive and exhaustive investigation with more than adequate participation from both sides of the political divide. I would have hoped that the record of the Committee’s findings would have reflected everything revealed during the course of its investigation but, sadly, it does not.”

Urban Renewal’s Small Homes repair programme was the subject of intense scrutiny last April after an Auditor-General report on the initiative revealed that 11 contractors were paid $171,000 to conduct repairs, yet on-site inspections revealed that little to no work was done.

The report, leaked early last year, also found that contracts for the repair of houses in New Providence totalling $10,000 or more were issued to contractors without proof of ministerial approval.

The report covered the period July 1, 2012, to September 30, 2014, and concluded by criticising the programme for its lack of “due diligence, level of transparency and accountability”, as well as having too many “gaps” in its execution, quality of work done, and overall management.

The report said that contrary to the Small Homes repair programme’s fundamental mandate, homes were repaired “where occupants were not elderly, disabled and unemployed”.

Mr Gibson hit out at that report repeatedly during his address in Parliament yesterday, challenging its accuracy, while arguing that the Auditor General had failed to make relevant inquires or the necessary corrections to the document, which was ultimately tabled in Parliament.

According to Mr Gibson, while hundreds of homes were repaired, only 12 were highlighted in the report.

 PAC chairman, FNM MP Hubert Chipman, yesterday said the Small Homes repair initiative “lacked appropriate record keeping and filing systems; to have applied unacceptable standards when engaging contractors; and to have failed to maintain even minimal levels of oversight”.

He added that it was “quite clear that the public did not get value for its money, and that opportunities for dishonest dealing, fraud and profiteering abounded”.    

Mr Gibson responded yesterday by asserting that the PAC’s majority report was “politically driven and biased”.

“If you look at all of the homes repaired, extensive repairs needed in some instances, roof repairs and other types of repairs, for a blanket statement to be made like that; that the public didn’t get value for money, that is misleading and inaccurate,”he said.

“It doesn’t reflect the value of the programme. This initiative was conceived out of a genuine interest to assist the less fortunate among us. As a result, hundreds of homes were repaired and hundreds of jobs were created, bringing comfort and hope to many inner-city residents.”