The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Leader Michael Pintard said he rejects the Ministry of Finance’s “incomplete” contract procurement report released on Sunday because it fails to satisfy the transparency requirements of the Public Procurement Act.

The Organisation for Responsible Governance also highlighted the incompleteness of the report yesterday, although the organisation praised the government for disclosing some information.

ORG said the report did not list the “location of performance” or addresses of the businesses awarded contracts as the law requires.

“It is essential to acknowledge that the list of contracts in this report is not exhaustive, as certain contract categories, including legal services, financial consultancies, property rental or acquisitions, audit and actuarial services, telecommunications, rental properties, and research and development-related expenses are exempt from mandatory reporting in the legislation,” ORG said.

“ORG, in its benchmarking and evaluation of this Act before its passage, recognised these exclusions and advocated for their inclusion as best practices. It is also notable that awarded contracts that would have been required under the Public Procurement Act, 2021 remain unreported.”

 The Ministry of Finance disclosed that 843 contracts worth $140m were awarded from September 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.

 Mr Pintard noted the disclosure did not include information from September 2021 to August 2022.

 He said the report did not include contracts awarded by state-owned enterprises such as the NIB, the Public Hospitals Authority, Water & Sewerage or the University of The Bahamas.

 “Third, there are clear examples of significant contracts that were awarded during the reporting period that were simply left out in the report,” he said. “One such example is the award of a multi-million dollar and multi-year contract by the Ministry of Transport for navigational aids to a company that seems to have had no such experience in a project of that size and scale. Is there a reason why the government has hidden this particular contract?

 “The law is clear. Section 75 (2)(a) says that the government must include ALL procurement contracts in its reports. Why is the government keeping the details of select contracts from the public? What is there to hide?

 “Finally, by law, the prime minister as minister of finance is to lay this report in the House of Assembly so as to be accountable in a formal way for its contents. The fact that this half-baked incomplete report has come out in the dead of night via press release is nothing more in my view than a sad, but now common attempt by the flailing and failing Davis-led administration to sidestep accountability for its contents.”

 Yesterday, Financial Secretary Simon Wilson said contract disclosures will become more frequent.

 He said the government is growing its ability to capture information comprehensively.

 “There was a slight delay as we get ministries, departments, and agencies to be set to the importance of putting information into the portal,” he said. “I think we’ve accomplished that greatly, and so you will be seeing more and more publications of contracts over the period going forward.”