The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Opposition will urge the Auditor General to “intervene” and probe allegations by a top civil servant that two maritime-related contracts were executed irregularly, its leader revealed yesterday.

Michael Pintard told Tribune Business that the Free National Movement (FNM) will also “without question” use its control of Parliament’s government spending watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), to launch its own investigation into how DigieSoft Technologies and Adolpha Maritime Group were awarded multi-million dollar contracts by the Davis administration.

Coming off Wednesday’s by-election defeat, Mr Pintard signalled he plans to turn up the heat on the Government after Antoniette Thompson, the top civil servant in the then-Ministry of Transport and Housing, made “very grave” assertions regarding both contracts when launching legal action over her apparent “sidelining” by the Davis administration.

The ministry’s permanent secretary, prior to being placed on “unrecorded leave” in April 2023, she alleged in legal documents that both “large contracts” were signed and executed by junior officials “without the knowledge or authority” of herself even though - as permanent secretary - she was the one required by law and civil service rules to sign-off.

And she claimed that the DigieSoft Technologies contract, which committed the Government to pay $3.355m for an online portal to collect the 4 percent Port Department fee levied on foreign yacht charters, was signed by Gaynell Rolle, the Ministry of Transport and Housing’s under-secretary, prior to all the necessary documents arriving at the ministry’s offices.

That contract, as well as the annual $3.57m award to Adolpha Maritime Group for the maintenance of navigational aids in Nassau and other harbours across The Bahamas, were both cited for procedural irregularities in Ms Thompson’s October 27, 2023, action naming both Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and her then-minister, Jobeth Coleby-Davis, as defendants.

Mr Pintard told Tribune Business yesterday that he aims to mobilise both main government spending watchdogs to probe the DigieSoft and Adolpha Maritime Group contracts after the emergence of Ms Thompson’s claims exposed both awards to fresh scrutiny.

He replied “without question” and “yes” when asked by this newspaper if the Opposition-controlled Public Accounts Committee planned to investigate the two contracts and Ms Thompson’s allegations. The Committee had sought to do this prior to Parliament’s proroguing, and the new legislative session, and Mr Pintard indicated the latest claims had renewed momentum for an inquiry.

“We will formally ask the Auditor General to intervene,” the Opposition leader said. “We will write asking that the Auditor General’s Office, in their usual due diligence, do examine matters surrounding this particular issue.”

Confirming that he was referring to the two contract awards, Mr Pintard said of the DigieSoft deal in particular: “On the surface of it, this appears to be a contract that has been provided to persons known to this administration..... You would recall I raised it formally in the Budget communication and we raised it in the question and answer period. We have already raised it multiple times in the House of Assembly.”

Tribune Business on Wednesday reported Ms Thompson’s fixed claim as stating she only became aware of the two contracts when the Port Department requested the release of funds so that both winning bidders could “mobilise” to perform their obligations.

However, her attorney, Roshar Brown, yesterday clarified that his client was aware of the two processes as she “prepared the contracts for procurement and authored the Cabinet Paper” concerning them. He added that Ms Thompson’s claim is instead centred on the allegation they were signed and dated by Ms Rolle without her knowledge or consent even before the contracts were received by the ministry.

Mr Pintard, though, said Ms Thompson’s allegations raised multiple concerns over both contracts especially since internal Ministry of Transport and Housing documents suggested there was no budgetary funding provided to cover either award. “We are concerned about what other projects in the country have been cancelled or postponed as a result of these unbudgeted items being given priority,” he told this newspaper.

In an earlier statement, he added: “Is it accurate as alleged that a subordinate officer within the ministry signed on to multi-million dollar contracts while permanent secretary Thompson, as principal accounting officer, was in office? If so, how was this impropriety addressed? What action was taken against the offending parties?

“Is it accurate as alleged that there was no funding available for the multi-million dollar contracts that were reportedly inappropriately signed off by a subordinate officer? What other parliamentary approved and funded projects had to be cancelled or postponed to accommodate these unfunded obligations for which there was no funding?

“Why has the Davis administration still not explained how these multi-million dollar projects were awarded to recently-formed businesses with little or no experience, with none of the contracted vendors seeming to have gone through the tender process?”

Demanding that the Prime Minister initiate a “full investigation” into Ms Thompson’s claims, Mr Pintard said permanent secretaries and department heads are by law the “principal accounting officers” for ministries and agencies under their stewardship, and only they - not ministers nor any other public servants - have “legal responsibility to approve expenditure, sign public contracts”.

Ms Thompson, in her legal action, said she received a request for mobilisation funding for both contracts from Lieutenant Commander Berne Wright, the acting port controller, in February 2023. It requested that Adolpha Maritime Group be paid $1.192m - a sum equivalent to a four-month payment on its annual $3.576m contract - to kickstart “the maintenance and upkeep of aids to navigation throughout..The Bahamas”.

As for Digiesoft, the sum requested was $1.678m or 50 percent “of the total cost for the Port Department Software Development Project”. The Port Department added: “This payment is required to ensure the necessary resources, materials and equipment for the initiation of this project. Grateful for your assistance in seeking release of funds to expedite these requests.”

A notation to the Port Department’s memorandum, dated February 9 and seemingly written by Ms Thompson, passed the financing request on to another Ministry of Transport and Housing official “for your attention and further necessary action”.

Pamela Rutherford, a financial officer and account supervisor, replied to Ms Thompson the same day, and said: “I am acknowledging receipt of documents for Adolpha Maritime Group and Digiesoft. After review of capital budget, and consultation with budget analyst (Hall), it was concluded that no funding is available in budget for these projects.”