The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian environmental activist yesterday branded the lack of transparency surrounding the selection of a new manager for the New Providence landfill as "very disturbing".

Sam Duncombe, reEarth's president, spoke out yesterday following the passage of more than one month since Romauld Ferreira, minister of the environment and housing, told the media that a private sector manager had been selected but did not name it.

"It's extremely important in terms of dealing with the health of the people who live in the vicinity," Mrs Duncombe said of resolving the landfill's ongoing woes. "There's also the broader community of New Providence that also feels the effects of the smoke. You have everything under the sun burning at that landfill from time to time.

"The emissions are a huge issue for human health, environmental health in terms of air quality, and what's going into the atmosphere. From a ground water perspective, if any of that is leaking - which you can pretty much bet on - when that leachate gets into the water table, anyone in the vicinity using the water is going to be affected as well."

Mrs Duncombe added: " It's something that should have been dealt with a long time ago. There's talk about transparency and public inclusion, but it's not happening. It's very disturbing and discouraging. What's happening with the landfill, we haven't heard anything in a while. There are just so many other environmental issues still hanging in the balance, like the Blackbeard's Cay issue and Bimini's marine protected area.

Mr Ferreira, in a message to Tribune Business, said he was off-island with his family and would return shortly. In late June, he declined to say when the Government would enter into a contractual agreement with the preferred bidder, only confirming that it was Bahamian operated and any deal would for more than five years. He indicated that most of the details were dependent on Cabinet conclusions.

The three contenders are Bahamas WTP Ltd; Bahamas Waste; and Providence Advisors and the Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG). Tribune Business sources have suggested the Government favoured the Providence/WRDG consortium, but understands that none of the bidders have themselves been formally notified of the outcome.

Providence Advisors is headed by the well-known local investment banker, Kenwood Kerr. His partner, Waste Resources Development Group, features all the other Bahamian waste disposal groups bar Bahamas Waste.

Bahamas Waste is the BISX-listed company of the same name, while Bahamas WTP is a consortium that also features two US companies, Delaware-incorporated Ameresco Ltd and Louisiana-based Furnace and Tube Services Inc.

Cedric Scott, the actor, producer and uncle of former Cabinet minister, Jerome Fitzgerald, is listed by Bahamas WTP LTD's website as one of its five principals. Its two other Bahamas-based principals are banker, Ivylyn Cassar, and permanent resident, Fay Russell. The company's physical address is listed as Ms Cassar's Equity Bank & Trust, based in western New Providence.

Seventeen bidders submitted Expressions of Interest (EoI) for the New Providence landfill, but just seven qualified for the Request for Proposals (RFP) round. Four out of the seven firms responded and paid the registration fee, but APAPA International's submission was received after the closing date of April 9, 2018, at 4pm, resulting in its bid being summarily rejected by the Tenders Board.