TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar.
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar has defended the government’s award of a no-bid contract to Kanoo Pays, an electronic retail payment provider, to process travel health visa payments.
The Progressive Liberal Party, which criticised the contract award during a press conference yesterday, has highlighted the company’s association with Dr Nigel Lewis, the co-manager of the Free National Movement’s general election campaign.
In an interview this week, Mr D’Aguilar said the identity of those behind Kanoo was never considered when the company was selected to process visa payments, adding that the company’s fees are in line with other electronic payment providers and the quality of its services is high.
“I don’t know why all this attention is being brought to Kanoo,” he said.
Both Free National Movement and Progressive Liberal Party administrations have issued no-bid or closed-bid contracts for the sake of expediency even though this can often invite scrutiny when connections between company representatives and governing parties are uncovered.
In addition to the travel health visa, Kanoo has received at least two other government contracts in recent months: a three-year contract to implement an e-payment system for family courts and a two-year contract with the Department of Social Services to provide digital assistance to its clientele. It is not clear whether those contracts were awarded through a competitive bid process or not. Government officials have not responded to The Tribune’s questions on that and Kanoo declined to provide details yesterday.
“Today, we don’t want to go into any specifics regarding contracts and the amounts,” Kanoo said.
“We embrace the government’s procurement process, which encourages competitive bidding and tendering of projects. We are confident of our technology and capabilities. We are prepared to stand toe to toe with anyone in an open process based on any company’s capabilities. And we believe that we will meet or exceed any of the requirements put forward as we have done in the past. As we have in our previous engagements with government and private sectors, we welcome very vigorous scrutiny related to capabilities. We look forward to being as competitive and engaging in robust competition in the future openly and transparently.”
During a press conference yesterday, PLP Leader Philip “Brave” Davis accused the Minnis administration of helping FNM insiders with its contract awards.
Dr Lewis, meanwhile, said his lawyers are preparing a statement for public release, though the statement did not come before press time.
In a likely reference to Cash N’ Go, a money transfer company owned by PLP Deputy Leader Chester Cooper, Dr Lewis said observers should “speak to who owns some of these platforms that deal with government business, places where you can go and pay for your electricity and water. They should start off there to see who they are and what they are.”
The Ministry of Tourism, meanwhile, suggested in a statement that the decision to impose fees for the visa was made late in the process of developing a website where people could upload their COVID-19 tests, and that by then it would have been unrealistic to launch an RFP process because the site was scheduled to go live in five days.
The ministry said the fees were imposed to pay for the rapid antigen test residents were mandated to take, the health insurance visitors were required to have while in the county and to cover the start-up costs associated with the website along with other operational costs.
The ministry said Kanoo is an established payment provider that worked with the Ministry of Tourism’s online software developer before.
Kanoo, the ministry said, receives service fees of 1.5 percent per transaction for the travel health visa system.
“It’s not a massive amount of money,” Mr D’Aguilar told The Tribune earlier this week. “Kanoo, based on you asking the questions, I called up the chap. I don’t know who the shareholders are but I’ve been made to believe that they are ten young black Bahamian men who are all under the age of 45 who got together in 2016 and decided to form Kanoo. They launched their business in 2019 and I think they’re doing a very good job. I understand they just won the bid to provide the wallets for sand-dollar so it shows they are technically capable to provide the services. The only thing anyone could ever have an issue with is the fee and the fee is very much in line with what fees are being charged by other government agencies for this.
“I don’t know the politics of these ten young men. I don’t have a clue. In fact, I’ve never heard of half of them.”
The Ministry of Tourism rebuffed claims that Kanoo is “holding and controlling the funds earned by the travel health visa.”
“The commentators clearly do not understand how these electronic payment providers operate, nor do they understand the merchant processing relationship that is established once these types of arrangements are agreed upon,” the ministry said. “Consistent with all the other similar arrangements, the providers hold the funds temporarily before they are remitted to the government.”
The ministry said funds that are earned are deposited into an account the company shares with the ministry and that the account is at all times controlled and monitored by the ministry’s accounting department.
The ministry said up to March 31, 2021, $2.4 million surplus funds have been received from the visa system. Revenues were $9.8 million and expenses were $7.4 million.
“Some 82 percent of the revenue was paid by visitors and 18 percent was paid by returning citizens and residents and domestic travellers,” the ministry said. “Sixty-five percent of the expenses covered the cost of health insurance and 30 percent of the expenses covered the cost of administering the rapid antigen test.”
Comments
trueBahamian 3 years, 5 months ago
I don't gully understand the health visa. You take a test, that you receive the results electronically that you can present at the airport as proof of a negative Covid-19 test, which is what the government needs to see. so, why the need for the health visa. This very test has to be submitted to get an approval. Added to this, you have to show the health visa approval to come into the country. But, you can simply show the negative PCR test. The Ministry of Health can still track you and have you provide the rapid antigen test 5 days after arrival here which you can upload. Clearly something is fishy here.
With regards to health insurance for visitors. Really? So, if someone is sick while here, the health visa will cover what expenses exactly? It's a game for sure.
licks2 3 years, 4 months ago
Should I answer that nagging question for ya?? Its is as simple as thats why when you come into the Bahamas you cannot "just show" ya drivers licence as "proof" that you are a Bahamian. . .they need ya passport!! Oh, by the way. . .thas an international standard to enter your own country you lived in all your life!! Them immigrations don't want to hear no crap from you. . .even if the officer lived "cross da road" from ya ma house all they life. . .they want that passport from you!!! Like my child like to all ways say " that don't make no sense". . .and I all ways say back. . ."I know". . .but thats how they are doing it!!
dwanderer 3 years, 5 months ago
Prior to vaccinations and the subsequent perks, when I traveled from Grand Bahama to Nassau, I paid $25 for a Health Travel Visa, plus $165 for a RT PCR test and about $55 for a rapid antigen test after five days of returning to Freeport. Costs for the Covid tests were paid by me and not covered under the Health Travel Visa. So, for every $25 dollars collected from traveling residents for a health travel visa, what are we paying for since we don't get health insurance, nor free antigen tests?
Dawes 3 years, 5 months ago
The rapid one should have been covered. Mine was on an inter island trip.
C2B 3 years, 5 months ago
Duh! Anyone can see this was an inside scam to extort the visitors. Of course the owners are friends of an insider. Of course there was a no bid contract. Of course this will remain in place after covid is a distant memory. Of course the politicians don't know what all the attention is for.
FrustratedBusinessman 3 years, 5 months ago
Sadly, things will never change.
licks2 3 years, 4 months ago
What? How these pimple brains around here "fall all oner themselves" when they try to reason through some of the most obvious "things" sitting right on the top of their heads?
tribanon 3 years, 5 months ago
Just more proof that the very corrupt D'Aguilar is a pathological liar like the very corrupt Minnis.
Tell that to Brent Symonette! Anyone remember what happened to him when Ingraham found out he had awarded his asphalting company the Nassau airport runway contract, purportedly on an 'emergency basis'?
Aahh, yes. Here we see Dr. Nigel Lewis unwittingly admitting to news reporters his great propensity for corruption by saying "If they can wrongfully profit from corruption, why can't I wrongfully profit from corruption too?"
Minnis and the many of those in the higher ranks of the FNM party are indeed corrupt to their very core.
WETHEPEOPLE 3 years, 5 months ago
The health visa and the method for payment were a complete scheme by the government to extort Bahamians and visitors alike. The governments raped its citizens of their hard earnt money during a time when there was no money to be spared. Some political insiders seeked to use the covid crisis as a chance to make money of a most dire situation. All who were a part of this scheme to fraud the Bahamian public should be held accountable. This here is an example of corruption at its highest, and yet the aviation ministers tries to tell the public there is nothing to see here, move on. We deserve better, and until we stop being so passive dont expect the corruption to stop anytime soon.
tribanon 3 years, 5 months ago
Well said and all too true.
newcitizen 3 years, 5 months ago
Is there another local company that would be able to provide online payment processing in the same way? Not excusing the contract, but as far as I know, they are the only game in town.
Dawes 3 years, 5 months ago
I think there are now a few. One of them from what i hear is partially owned by a member of the opposition (deputy). So if/when Government changes expect to see a lot given to that company instead.
birdiestrachan 3 years, 5 months ago
received 9.8 million expenses 7.4 million. those expenses are very high.
Why is a travel visa needed in the first place. What is that all about.
Be sure not to believe anything the Masterful liars . FNM says. D"Aguillar does not have the ability to speak the TRUTH.
birdiestrachan 3 years, 5 months ago
Is the travel visa on sale now it use to be $25.00 now it is $10.00?
The travel Visa in itself is a scam why is it necessary?
TalRussell 3 years, 5 months ago
Honourably resign is not in the vocabulary range of Montagu's Comrade Dionisio James, em's s, too power-hungry focused at occupying the office of the prime minister.
I forget now, weren't the 2017 Montagu constituency not run on a door-knockin';' campaign of *Restorative Principles of Transparency yes?
tribanon 3 years, 5 months ago
That will never happen....even the sun has a better chance of not rising tomorrow. lol
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 5 months ago
I say forest for the trees. The real head scratcher is the website. For the most part people dont understand and automatically think "software"?, "million"? Ok, sounds reasonable When in actuality the work could be done for a few thousand. Its an audiovisual company. How did they get a software development contract? No bid? And after the extremely poor performance of rapidbahamas?? Its extremely odd. Then think about how poorly the visa site performed...who could have anticipated 5000 requests per day?
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