The Tribune

• Says higher than 80% cited in House exchange

• PM: Figure not right, but won’t give correct one

• Taxpayer dollars means locals must be involved

By NEIL HARTNELL 

Tribune Business Editor 

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president yesterday asserted that the ratio of Chinese labour employed on the $290m new hospital will be higher than the 80 percent cited in Parliament.

Leonard Sands told Tribune Business that, based on past experience with The Pointe project, the ratio of Chinese construction workers to Bahamians could reach as high as 90/10 as he urged the Government to ensure “daily” monitoring mechanisms are in place to prevent past workforce “abuses” from being repeated.

The Government is planning to finance New Providence’s new hospital with concessional financing from the China Export-Import Bank, an institution owned by the Beijing government, at a low-cost interest rate of 2 percent.

But, while conceding that Chinese labour and contractors are always part of any deal involving Beijing’s money, Mr Sands told this newspaper that the Davis administration must ensure that Bahamian contractor and worker participation in such projects “is at the level where there are some economic benefits to The Bahamas”.

He added that this was especially important given that Bahamian taxpayers will be called upon to finance the 20-year loan’s repayment, and said the implementation of “safeguards” for local involvement is critical given that Chinese-financed projects have not always complied with labour ratios stipulated in Heads of Agreement with the Government.

Mr Sands spoke out following heated House of Assembly exchanges yesterday over the $290m hospital project and, particularly, the likely Chinese labour component. Patricia Deveaux, the House speaker, at one point said she was “striking from the record” a suggestion by Michael Pintard, the Opposition leader, that the construction workforce will be 80 percent Chinese.

This figure was rejected by both Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, although the former ultimately declined to specify what the actual ratio will be. The exchanges were sparked after Mr Davis hit back at the Free National Movement’s (FNM) criticism of plans to build the hospital at a new site rather than expand the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) campus.

“The chairman said we should just slap some repairs on what was already there,” Mr Davis said, referring to comments by Dr Duane Sands. “They just wanted to put another expansion on PMH. They implied we don’t have the local talent to ensure the success of the facility.”

This prompted an intervention by Mr Pintard, who appeared to cite a study conducted by the Beck Group, a US architectural and engineering firm headed by Bahamian, Fred Perpall, to plan the redevelopment of the PMH campus.

“He’s seeking to mislead the public, madam speaker. The chairman of the FNM was very clear in what he said,” the Opposition leader retorted. “There was a study conducted by a group that even this Government is utilising for their expertise.

“The resources were allocated to conduct a comprehensive study. That study revealed a greenfield development, the brand-new development of a hospital, was not necessary and it could be done on the same site and surrounding areas.

“You could improve it. It is a transformation of the entire medical plant, the infrastructure and ecosystem. His words were misleading to the public. You are quoting someone incorrectly. There was a study conducted and therefore you could have transformed the existing area. You have chosen to go elsewhere. That’s a different story.”

Beck Group’s 141-page report, which has been seen by Tribune Business, called for the demolition of existing buildings, including the PMH warehouse and oncology units, to make wake for the new six-storey tower and a helipad.

Further phased redevelopment called for the demolition of existing clinics and storage and their replacement by a medical/ surgical tower; expansion of surgical services; and other facilities. Beck Group had proposed a five-phase approach that also involved the creation of additional parking and a clinical housing complex according to the plans seen by this newspaper.

Mr Davis responded to Mr Pintard by doubling down on his earlier comments. “I said he [Dr Sands] wanted us to repair what was already there; we should just slap some repairs on what was already there, that what he said. They just want us to put another expansion on PMH.

“They implied we don’t have the local talent to ensure the success of the facility. I said: Why do you keep on under-estimating the Bahamian people man? Obviously we won’t neglect the healthcare infrastructure already in place. We are upgrading PMH, renovating our clinics, building new hospitals in New Providence and Grand Bahama. We’re doing it all at one time, madam speaker, that’s what we’re doing”

Mr Pintard, though, hit back immediately. “The irony of the Prime Minister’s comments that we do not respect or have confidence in local talent,” he said. “Eighty percent of the employees coming to work on the new hospital will be from the Far East. Think about that, Madam Speaker, think about that. That’s not true. We support Bahamian excellence.”

This resulted in an intervention from Dr Darville who, referring to Mr Pin- tard, said: “The member for Marco City is misleading this honourable House. He made a statement that 80 percent of the workers will be foreign. He should withdraw that statement because it’s incorrect.”

The Opposition leader, though, persisted: “The traditional arrangement, where resources have been borrowed from the Chinese government, the traditional arrangement has been 80 percent/20 percent Bahamian.

“If this government has a different configuration which it has negotiated they should then indicate they have departed from the traditional arrangement. If you have departed we would applaud that and would love to know what the new arrangement is.”

The House speaker then intervened to say she was “striking from the record the 80 percent”, but Mr Pintard persisted: “That has been the traditional arrangement. I’m asking what is the percentage.” This prompted Mr Davis to accuse his Opposition counterpart of “grandstanding”.

“In my [Budget] communication and opening this debate, I talk of changing the status quo. That means moving away from tradition. Don’t rely on tradition,” Mr Davis said. Dr Darville could also be heard saying: “We’ll let you know. It’s not 80 percent.” The Prime Minister concluded by asserting: “We’re not going to answer it. It’s not what you say, and we’re not prepared to tell you what it is.”

Mr Sands, though, told Tribune Business that the Chinese labour component is likely higher than that cited in the House exchanges. “I would argue that the ratio will be 90/10,” he said. “I’m convinced about that because of our dealings with China State” Construction and Engineering Corporation and its affiliate, China Construction America (CCA), the latter of which owns the British Colonial and The Pointe.

“At the Pointe, the arrangement proposed was 70/30,” the BCA president said of the project’s labour ratio, “but after investigation it was found to be 95 percent Chinese and only a handful of Bahamian workers for The Pointe’s phase one and two.

“We have no reason to believe it [the new hospital] will be anything other than what we are accustomed to when dealing with China. Unless the Government has some kind of mechanism in place to ensure the ratio of Bahamians to Chinese is monitored daily, there’s no reason to assume abuse will not occur.

“Our position has always been that while we don’t disapprove of the engagement of contractors and workers when the funding is provided by the Chinese state, as we understand it always comes with their labour component, our recommendation has always been that the Government ensure by contractual terms and management of the process that the level of Bahamian contractor involvement is at least at the level where there’s some economic benefit to The Bahamas.”

Mr Sands, conceding that the BCA cannot tell the Government how to achieve this, argued that ensuring reasonable Bahamian participation on the hospital’s $290m construction is more important in this instance because the project is ultimately being financed by the taxpayer dollars that will repay China Export-Import Bank’s loan.

“I have no doubt that this contract will provide them with a new hospital,” he said. “Our concern as the BCA is to what extent will Bahamian contractors be involved in that development. To that extent, it [the proportion of Chinese labour] should not be a secret.

“The public should be advocating to what extent Bahamian contractors are involved. At the end of the day, repayment of the $290m, even at 2 percent, is being paid by public funds. The point raised should be clearer.

“We are borrowing this money to be repaid with public funds. We demand to know the extent to which Bahamians will be involved with this project. And we demand that, if the contract is breached in any way, it has stiff penalties involving thousands of dollars or termination of the contract,” Mr Sands continued.

“The language of the Government of The Bahamas has to be that we will watch this daily and monitor it, and not tolerate any breach of contract in terms of manpower and contractual obligations. We’d like to know how you will maintain your end of the bargain because you have not done so in the past. We want you to tell us what safeguards will be in place to make us comfortable here.”

Mr Sands said too many administrations, “past and present”, have excluded construction industry professionals from development-related negotiations. He added that this has been “the downfall” of previous administrations, and why “we will suffer the same results”.

“I stand by that,” the BCA president added. “The last time we had this agreement is was the BCA investigation, from persons on the ground who said the labour ratio is signifiantly being breached. We implore the Government to do something different this time and engage us so the benefits to Bahamian con- tractors are accrued across the board in this contract.”