The Tribune

• Slams ex-official as ‘angry man’ in House blast

• Threatens to reveal details in personnel files

• But fails to address specific concerns raised

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The prime minister yesterday seemingly threatened to disclose personnel file details on a former government employee who wrote an article challenging the administration’s procurement reform implementation.

Dr Hubert Minnis, while closing the budget debate in the House of Assembly, blasted Daniel Ferguson as “an angry man” in response to a June 10, 2021, article published in Tribune Business where the latter warned that the “true intent and value” of the Public Procurement Act was in danger of being lost due to flaws in its execution.

An irate Dr Minnis, asserting that Mr Ferguson as an ex-government contractor had “breached confidentiality” with the article’s contents, also suggested the latter would have difficulty finding new employment or work as he asserted: “Who would hire such an individual moving forward?”

This came just after the prime minister, in thinly-veiled references to Mr Ferguson’s past career at both the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) and Ministry of Health, indicated he might reveal details from the ex-contractor’s personnel files held by the government if the public procurement issue continues to be raised. “If you push me enough, I will,” he warned.

Dr Minnis was responding to Glenys Hanna Martin, the opposition MP for Englerston, who sparked the furore when she tabled Mr Ferguson’s Tribune Business article some days earlier as part of the 2021-2022 budget debate.

The prime minister sought to portray Mr Ferguson as a disgruntled former employee with a grudge, variously describing the article as “misguided” and “misleading and inaccurate”, but without explaining why or rebutting any of the details contained in the piece. 

The only specifics challenged by Dr Minnis were the September 1, 2021, date for implementing the Public Procurement Act, which he denied had been chosen for “political expediency” so that the government could award multiple contracts prior to the new system being implemented.

“I read that opinion piece, which was riddled with inaccuracies and misleading statements,” Dr Minnis said. “I intended to ignore it, as I question the motivation of the writer. But given that the member opposite [Mrs Hanna-Martin] brought it up in Parliament, I will briefly respond.”

Instead of directly addressing Mr Ferguson’s concerns, the Prime Minister instead blasted the procurement practices of the former Christie administration in what some observers will likely view as an attempt to deflect attention from the issues surrounding his government.

“When we came to office, we found contracts for any number of vendors that did not go to the Tenders Board as required,” Dr Minnis said. “We found contracts that did not go to Cabinet as required. Months and months into our term there were people coming forward with contracts that were signed outside of any procurement process.”

Slamming what he branded as “slack processes”, the Prime Minister added that the Christie administration had promised public procurement reform but had failed to deliver, leaving the present government to instead complete the job with an Act that takes effect on September 1 this year.

“It is an Act that is among the most progressive in the Caribbean, embracing all elements of global leading practices. It will require publication of all contracts,” he said

Dr Minnis argued that it was “strange” for Mr Ferguson to argue that the Government should have followed the Public Procurement Act’s procedures because it has yet to become law, yet this is not what the article actually said.

Mr Ferguson instead questioned whether contracts issued by the Ministry of Education had been tendered via the digital supplier registry, which is where Bahamian companies interested in bidding on government contracts can register, obtain information on tenders and submit bids.

“During his budget debate contribution on Wednesday, June 2, Jeff Lloyd, minister of education, practically bragged that nearly $40m was spent by the government on school repairs and that an additional $20m will be added for their continuation. Were these contracts tendered via the e-procurement supplier registry or the print media? Who were these contractors? The public presently has no idea,” Mr Ferguson wrote.

Referring to the Ministry of Education contracts, Dr Minnis said: “The existing policy and legal framework for procurement has been adhered to in the award of these contracts. These were the same policies the side opposite ignored regularly.

“Where appropriate, the contracts went to the Tenders Board or to the Cabinet for consideration. Even though they used to ignore the guidelines regularly, this administration is using the same guidelines and procedures for procurement that the side opposite left in place. They are the same guidelines and procedures that have been in place under successive administrations for decades.

“The Ministry of Finance is busy putting in place the processes, procedures, rules and training to ensure that the September timeline is met comfortably.” Dr Minnis then went off-script, adding: “We will abide by the law and related regulations.

“The truth is that the operational leadership of the Ministry of Finance recommended to myself and the minister of state [Senator Kwasi Thompson] that the timeline be pushed back to September because of the complexities of the Act and the significant changes that are required.”

Dr Minnis’ ire, though, was sparked by a further challenge from Mrs Hanna Martin, who argued that the Prime Minister was using the September 1 deadline as a smokescreen to distract attention from Mr Ferguson’s concerns as to whether the e-procurement supplier registry - which has 763 registered firms - had been used to bid the contracts.

This led to the Prime Minister’s description of Mr Ferguson as “an angry man” and the references to his government personnel records, with Dr Minnis adding: “There is such a thing as confidentiality. If, after leaving the ministry under whatever circumstances, this confidentiality is breached, who will hire such an individual moving forward as well?”

This prompted another intervention by Mrs Hanna Martin, who cautioned the Prime Minister against using the House of Assembly and parliamentary privilege to attack someone who was present to defend themselves. Desmond Bannister, deputy prime minister, also rose to state it was not true that the electronic procurement and tendering portal has yet to be used to bid government contracts.

Much is at stake over the public procurement reforms, which are designed to provide greater transparency, accountability and taxpayer “value for money” with all government contracts - something that is needed more than ever amid the fiscal and economic crisis produced by Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19.

It is also intended to usher in a meritocracy, with companies able to compete on a level playing field for government work and the best selected to perform the job. This, in theory, will end longstanding practices whereby administrations often issue tenders to political supporters, family members, cronies and others close to them.

However, Mr Ferguson argued that implementation woes are undermining this effort and may render it all for naught. He asserted that the new procurement system lacks a system administrator, having relied on “an international consultant residing in Cambodia”.

He added that “the training site designed to train government purchasing officers has been non-operational since March, so training was halted. This will have a devastating effect on the Government’s goal to have all agencies use the system by September”.

And Mr Ferguson also noted that the Public Hospitals Authority is requesting integration with its systems to avoid duplication, while connectivity with the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) and National Insurance Board (NIB) systems needs to be established to verify if bidders on contracts are tax compliant. None of these assertions were specifically addressed by Dr Minnis in Parliament.

Mr Ferguson, who in his biography says he led the Act’s drafting team, adds that he is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply with over 25 years of experience in public procurement.

A retired chief petty officer with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), he is a former procurement officer in the Ministry Health and Ministry of Finance, and former component co-ordinator for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) sponsored public financial management reform project,