The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

DEPARTMENT of Meteorology equipment worth at least $19.9m has been left uninsured and vulnerable to loss or damage, Auditor General Terrance Bastian has revealed following a probe of operations there.

The uninsured equipment includes five doppler radars — only three of which are fully functional — responsible for monitoring the southern Bahama islands and several airport weather observing systems (AWOS).

Numerous other uninsured equipment and instruments are also being housed at the department’s Upper Air Station at Windsor Field Road. As of the auditors’ walk through of the property in July, the building needed extensive repairs, leading to an engineering team from the Ministry of Public Works determining that the building be “condemned”.

 “None of the department’s equipment and instruments are insured against loss or damage,” the report, which was tabled in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, said.

 The Tribune sought clarification from the Office of Auditor General yesterday. It was confirmed that none of the department’s equipment, including the expensive radars and AWOS, had current insurance protection.

 On October 27, 2016, the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, now the Ministry of Transport and Local Government, signed a contract with an international company to acquire several doppler radars and airport weather observing systems, with a price tag of $19,136,110, which included value added tax.

 The government moved to purchase the equipment in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin in 2015. The decision also came with the realisation that the existing doppler radar was not sufficient to cover the southern islands of Long Island, San Salvador, Rum Cay and MICAL. These islands were outside of the sole doppler radar’s effective range of 150 miles.

 Initially, the contract’s deliverables were for the installation of four doppler weather radars throughout The Bahamas and nine airport weather observing systems together with associated software and services.

 On March 6, 2017, the contract was amended and signed on July 22, 2019.

 According to the audit report, amendments were made to the contract including additional supply containers, updated project plans and additional costs and late payment interest of a 12 percent charge if balances remained unpaid.

 “This project is fully funded by the government of The Bahamas and is being managed by DOM (Department of Meteorology),” the audit report said.

 “Five doppler radars have been installed. However, three are fully operational: LPIA in New Providence; Marsh Harbour, Abaco; and Millerton, Long Island.

 “Ragged Island and Mayaguana are awaiting BTC and BPL connections.

 “Further, the following islands AWOS installations have been completed: New Providence; New Bight, Cat Island; Fresh Creek, Andros; Matthew Town, Inagua. Also, two AWOS are awaiting reinstallation, these were destroyed by Hurricane Dorian and they are located in Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay, Abaco.

 “The government of The Bahamas at the end of our reporting period June 31, 2021, has funded an amount of $19,946,235 towards the project.”

 A further break down of how this money was paid showed that the government paid the foreign company $6,687,639 in the 2016/2017 fiscal year, $7,654,444 in 2017/2018, $2,880,417 in 2018/2019 and $$2,723,736 in 2019 to the same year December.

 Concerning the Upper Air Station, an inspection was carried out there on July 13, 2021, at 12.30pm.

 “The building is in need of extensive repairs as most of the weather instruments for the department are stored there,” Auditor General Terrance Bastian said in his report.

 “A team of engineers from the Ministry of Public Works recently inspected the property and recommended the building be condemned. However, the department is presently awaiting the report from the Ministry of Works.

 “During our inspection of the building, we observed extensive damage to the roof which can lead to the contents in the building being damaged. Also, ceiling tiles displayed evidence of mould. The air conditioning in the server room is not operational, all instruments are dependent upon the A/C unit.

 “Additionally, we observed trees growing on the flat roof of the building. Roots have penetrated the roof and are allowing water to enter the structure. We observed a steel tower on the roof that seems to be structurally compromised.”

 The report also noted: “The building is equipped with an alarm system monitored by Sure Alarms Security Services. The technical staff of the department utilises the building, however during hurricanes they are often required to remain there for an indefinite period.”

 Mr Bastian also noted that the work of the Department of Meteorology has potentially been impeded as its hydrogen weather balloon has not been used for over a year due to problems with sourcing power for the hydrogen generator.

 He went on to note that during a review of employee files, it was observed that a worker was indebted to the government in the amount of $1,500. The employee’s file did not indicate that the money was repaid.

 The details of the findings were outlined in Mr Bastian’s report for the periods July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019; July 1 2019 to June 20, 2020 and July 1, 2020 to June 30 2021.