The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

URBAN Renewal Co-Chairs Algernon Allen and Cynthia “Mother” Pratt were on the defensive yesterday in the wake of the Public Accounts Committee’s damning report into the programme, with one of them revealing that there were plans underway to produce another report aimed at discrediting the work of the PAC.

The PAC’s report, tabled in the House of Assembly by committee Chairman Hubert Chipman, portrayed the initiative’s co-chairs as “naïve” and confused about their roles and duties. The probe focused on the Urban Renewal Commission’s (URC) Small Homes Repair (SHR) programme.

The report also found that the Small Homes Repair programme was overseen by an unqualified quantity surveyor who admitted to being used to “rubber stamp” completion certificates for unverified construction work.

The report found that Lisa Tucker and her CCMG Consultants firm met their contractual obligations “mostly in the breach, rather than their observance.”

The government has already drafted a minority report to counteract the PAC’s scathing review of the SHR programme. This investigation was carried out by Labour Minister Shane Gibson and tabled in the House of Assembly on Wednesday as well.

Mr Allen, a former Cabinet minister, told The Tribune that while he will not go into details about what is taking place behind the scenes, “we will be releasing our own report after we have conferred with the minister and others and that’s as much as I will say at this point.”

However, Cynthia “Mother” Pratt took a different position, calling the situation “foolishness” and suggested she should not have to face such scrutiny having dedicated decades to correcting social ills in this country.

She said: “Mr Allen is handling all of the commenting from this side. So I have no comments to make. I am tired of the foolishness. I have worked too hard in this country and I will not go down that stream again.

“I have served for too long and I have done the best that I can to serve all people. I am not a politician I am a stateswoman,” she continued.

The PAC report was to be tabled in Parliament on five separate occasions, but it was repeatedly delayed for several reasons.

Upon its tabling on Wednesday, Mr Chipman said the URC was found to be “severely lacking in accountability” coupled with “minimal fiscal safeguards”.

He added that after a series of interviews with URC administrative staff, which included Mr Allen and Mrs Pratt and the review of documents, both co-chairs were “naïve” and unclear of their roles to properly oversee the programme.

He said it was quite clear that the public had not got value for money and that opportunity for “dishonest dealing, fraud and profiteering abounded.”

In its first report of the 2012 session of Parliament, the PAC found that although the co-chairs were each paid $52,000 per annum for part-time work and provided with separate vehicles, gas allowance, cell phones and offices, their purview was strictly limited to New Providence where it appeared they had no authority to enforce particular guidelines related to the granting of contracts for the SHR programme among other things.

“He (Mr Allen) and his co-chair have no say nor authority and dare not trespass in that part (other islands) of the Bahamas,” the report said as it drew attention to Deputy Director Michelle Reckley’s role in Urban Renewal. She heads the programme in Grand Bahama and the Family Islands, the report noted.

“Mr Allen confirmed that his authority as co-chair is limited to New Providence. He testified that this was not a satisfactory arrangement from his perspective and that in his view, the commission should have responsibility for the entire Bahamas,” the report continued.

“Mr Allen confirmed that the practice was to limit the number of repair contracts under the SHR scheme to two projects per contractor to ensure a fair distribution of work among eligible contractors. He indicated that on several occasions the allocation policy was overridden by direct intervention on the part of the Minister of Works and Urban Development (Philip Davis) specifically and other efficiency considerations.

“The PAC found Mr Allen to be by and large forthcoming, however it was obvious that his role is largely ceremonial and public relations orientated rather than acting as a functioning chairman giving the PAC reason to question the value for money received from the co-chairs.”

Regarding Mrs Pratt’s role in Urban Renewal, the PAC said while she should be commended for her decades long commitment to alleviating the plight of the poor, the former deputy prime minister was found to pay little attention to details.

“The PAC found Mrs Pratt to have been naïve in the extreme when it came to her role with URC. It would seem from her testimony that she paid little attention to details, administrative systems, accounting practices, questions of transparency or, any other questions of protocol,” the report said.

In his minority report, Mr Gibson sought to defend both Mr Allen and Mrs Pratt, saying they were well aware of their duties and were wrongly portrayed by the PAC.