The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FORMER National Security Minister Marvin Dames said the Minnis administration did not award a contract to Walker’s Industries for multi-million work on Bahamas Department of Corrections facilities.

“We were certainly in the preparation phase,” Mr Dames said yesterday, adding that the company had submitted a “very good proposal”.

However, he said due diligence was required, following which a Cabinet paper would have been prepared and submitted for consideration.

“It happens from time to time where companies would submit proposals for consideration from government,” he said. “We hadn’t made it to the Cabinet phase.”

Mr Munroe told The Tribune on Sunday that he “met Walker’s engaged” to work on the correctional facilities, the cost of which now exceeds $40m. Yesterday, when asked about Mr Dames’ comments, he clarified that the Ministry of National Security under the Minnis administration had “identified” Walker’s Industries to do the work but did not execute a contract with the company.

“I met Walker’s and SteelCell in place,” he said. “I sent somebody to investigate SteelCell’s factory. When they came back and said they were capable of doing what they said they were doing, and Walker’s does the cabling and the rest of that, the matter proceeded. So we didn’t reject the persons that they had identified.”

SteelCell is a US-based company that will build prefabricated cells for correctional facilities.

“I’m not sure that Walker’s has signed a contract even now,” Mr Munroe said. “The process takes time so once they get their financing done, they’ll settle and sign a contract. The matter has gone to Cabinet. Where we met the matter is they had identified the vendor.”

Scrutiny of the contract award came after Free National Movement parliamentarians Michael Pintard and Kwasi Thompson said the Davis administration should explain whether the project was open to bids under the Public Procurement Act.

On Sunday, Mr Munroe said that the law exempts the Ministry of National Security from requirements.

The 2021 procurement law specifies what should happen when the Ministry of National Security is exempted from its requirements.

“Where the minister responsible for national security or defence, with the approval of the Cabinet, determines that a procurement related to national defence or national security requires the application of special measures, the provisions of this Act may be modified or suspended,” the 2021 law says. “The minister responsible for national security or defence shall report the application of the special measures and the suspension of the provisions of the act pursuant to subsection (3) to the chief procurement officer who shall forward this information to the financial secretary for inclusion in the annual report.”

Last week, when asked about the contract award process, Financial Secretary Simon Wilson directed The Tribune to the permanent secretary of the Ministry of National Security. The permanent secretary, Cheryl Darville, later directed The Tribune back to Mr Wilson.