The Tribune

TOURISM, Investments and Aviation Minister Chester Cooper said former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has “no moral standing” to accuse the Davis administration of “hypocrisy” regarding its decision to give a no-bid contract to Colina Insurance Limited for services under the Bahamas Travel Health Visa programme.

Mr Cooper, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, spoke to reporters a day after Dr Minnis criticised the Davis administration over the issue.

“The former Prime Minister and his former Deputy Prime Minister have no moral standing to talk about hypocrisy,” Mr Cooper told reporters yesterday when asked for comment.

“I’ve explained what our position is on the matter. We stand by the decision. I have said before that we had to make a decision that was in the best interest of the Bahamian people. We had very limited time in doing so and emergency decisions such as this (are) provided for in the new Procurement Act. And we are satisfied that we did the right thing.”

Earlier this week, The Tribune reported the Ministry of Tourism awarded the no-bid contract to Colina last Fall, shortly after the Davis administration took office.

The move flew in the face of its position when the Progressive Liberal Party was in opposition, considering that it criticised the Minnis administration for similarly giving a no-bid contract to Kanoo Pays for payment processing services for the health visa.

On Tuesday, Mr Cooper confirmed there was no tendering process for the insurance contract attributing this to time constraints. He defended the decision again yesterday.

“I indicated before that the former insurer CG Atlantic, refused to provide information to us that would have allowed us to make a proper assessment as it relates to the utilisation and the claims experience and, therefore, we had to make a decision and we did so,” Mr Cooper said.

“Secondly, we requested an extension to allow us to do further analysis as the deadline for terminating that existing agreement had been reached and they declined to offer an extended period to allow us to do further analysis.

“We reached out to several insurers in the marketplace, Colina responded swiftly, they provided a solution, they offered better rates than we had before, they offered a profit-sharing programme, which means that if they made excessive amounts in terms of profits, they would send back some money to the government.

“We believe we negotiated the best deal for the Bahamian people and we stand by the decision that we made, that’s provided for (in) emergencies like this in the rules and guidelines.

“We are committed to the highest standards of governance, this is what we will continue to do for and on behalf of the Bahamian people.”

On Wednesday, Dr Minnis hit out at the revelation, saying it is not fair to compare that contract award with his administration’s decision to give Kanoo Pays a no-bid contract for payment processing services under the same scheme.

“You (are) trying to compare apples with grapes,” Dr Minnis said. “I think it’s more than hypocritical because we were in an emergency situation when we did that, they were not in an emergency situation when they did this.”

Former Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest also took jabs at Mr Cooper over the matter during the Free National Movement’s convention Wednesday night.

“You know it was laughable to hear the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism and Aviation try to justify and explain the granting of a no bid contract for the travel visa programme that he criticised so heavily while in opposition,” Mr Turnquest said. “Remember his tirades about Kanoo and Atlantic Medical. Well, according to the DPM, his no bid contract was justified because of the urgency of the decision to change insurance contractors. I wonder what was the urgency since he saw no benefit in the programme anyway?

“The DPM went on to say that the Ministry of Tourism is not subject to the government’s procurement rules and thus he does not have to follow them. I suggest the DPM have another look at the Act because the provisions are clear. Besides, it’s just good business practice as I’m sure he is aware.”

In an audit of the visa programme released last week, Auditor General Terrance Bastian criticised the lack of competitive bidding that has characterised the initiative since its inception. In addition to the insurance and payment processing services, there was no competitive bidding originally for companies that completed the software for the online platform, provided rapid antigen tests on day five of arrival and managed the approved testing labs and day five tests.

Mr Bastian acknowledged the time pressures officials faced in executing the visa programme, but said the services should have gone out to tender, particularly the insurance service given the significant costs associated with that service.