The Tribune

WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister said the Minnis administration is concerned about receiving quality work from contractors, after revealing a seawall in High Rock, Grand Bahama was “improperly” built and taxpayers did not receive value for the money spent.

Mr Bannister spoke to the media after inspecting two seawalls, the other in Smith’s Point, on the island on Friday.

He said he was pleased with the work at Smith’s Point, but not happy with the construction on the seawall in High Rock. He said work has to be done to fix the problems at the High Rock seawall.

“We came out here because what you see is a seawall that was improperly built,” Mr Bannister said, according to a release from Bahamas Information Services.

“It has not given the people of Grand Bahama value for their money and you’ve seen where this was improperly done. The wall further down has actually separated, and there are a number of issues which ought never to have happened.

“We’re going to have to do some things to remedy this but we’re very concerned about the quality of work we get from contractors with respect to seawalls and other protective mechanisms for the people of Grand Bahama and the people of the Bahamas.”

Mr Bannister said people need to be made aware of how their tax dollars have been spent on “shoddy work, shoddy workmanship, work that’s not going to last, and we have to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.” 

Antonne Taylor, an engineer, said the shorelines need to be made more resilient to coastal hazards. To this end, he said, well-built coastal protection is needed, and the seawall in High Rock is an example of one done incorrectly.

“As a result, it’s suffered the various damage,” the engineer said. “Going forward, we have to make the necessary recommendations and works to ensure the proper functionality of the seawall.”

The seawall was built in 2004 and there is not yet a timeline for the repairs.

“It’s a good contrast to see the quality of work that you saw at Waugh Construction (at Smith’s Point) and how that can protect a community, and when you have something like here that’s not tied in properly, it’s not backfilled properly, it comes back to haunt you in a few years,” Mr Bannister said.

With hurricane season fast approaching, concern was expressed by the minister as to whether the seawall will protect or harm the residents.

Earlier on Friday, the delegation toured the seawall in Smith’s Point. Following that tour, Mr Bannister expressed pleasure in the work. He said that in his tenure as minister for almost one year, that project makes him “most proud.”

“You’ll remember when I started as minister of public works, this project was lagging. It was quite a bit behind time,” he said.

Having visited the island on a private visit, Mr Bannister saw the condition of the seawall and said at the time he was not pleased.

The right decision was made, he said, when the former contractor was terminated and Waugh Construction was brought in.

“They have shown extreme, outstanding professionalism in getting the job done. When you see something like this that is going to protect the community and you see what they’ve done here. The beach is coming back and so you’ll be able to walk on the beach. The amount of erosion that they had on this beach before, the sand is now coming back naturally because of the work that they’ve done.”

Mr Bannister said he was particularly proud that there were Bahamians doing the work. 

Toni Hudson-Bannister, officer in charge of the Ministry of Works and Utilities in Grand Bahama, said that the original project amount at Smith’s Point was $4.8 million and is expected to be completed in June, at the beginning of the hurricane season.