NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe.
By Jade Russell
Tribune Staff Reporter
jrussell@tribunemedia.net
NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said the contractor for the new corrections and related facilities is Walker’s Industries –– though the bidding process for the project remains unclear.
Mr Munroe recently revealed that construction plans for the Bahamas Department of Corrections have expanded, moving from just a $40m high-medium security facility to a $90m “correctional institution, administrative, housing and medical facility”.
Free National Movement Shadow Minister for Finance Kwasi Thompson said over the weekend that the FNM does not recall the government putting the initial $40m project to public tender.
“We have not gotten any indication that this massively rescoped $100m project will be subject to any kind of bidding process,” he said. “It is against the law under the Public Procurement Act of 2021 or the Public Procurement Act of 2023 for work of this size and scope not to be put out to an open bidding process with submissions viewed by the Tenders Board established in the law.
“What was the bidding process for the original contract? Who was awarded the contract? Will the government just hand an additional $50m to the same vendor without a competitive vendor process?”
Yesterday, Mr Munroe said Walker’s Industries began doing work related to the corrections facility under previous administrations.
He said the government would provide only $9m upfront for the contractor to construct the facilities.
“We are not paying them upfront to construct this,” he said. “We’re not even paying them as the construction proceeds. We’re giving them a one-time payment and they have to pay for everything else up to conclusion. I’ve been advised that they have resolved their financing and so, they should be in a position to proceed.”
“The government isn’t paying $90m for this to be built. The government on the current proposition is paying $9m and then they will have to build this to completion.”
He said the balance would be paid over time.
He could not give a date when construction would begin.
He said a clinic would be on the campus to prevent inmates from being transported to the hospital for treatment.
The Corrections Department is working with the American Correctional Association (ACA) to improve psychiatric care in the facility.
Dr Elizabeth Gondles, senior director of professional development of the ACA, said yesterday that the ACA has started involving 32 staff members in learning how to handle mentally ill inmates.
She said this type of training reduces violence, suicides, and self-harm and provides inmates with a healthier environment.
“This is why we’re training the first 32 in your country on these techniques (and) on these issues,” she said. “Hopefully, this will be the beginning of you seeing a difference. And in the places that we have done it in the United States, we have seen reductions of suicide, less violent facilities.”
Comments
moncurcool 11 months, 3 weeks ago
Could someone please help me with this voodoo project? IT costs $90 million to build. The government only giving the company $9 million to build it. And the company is to build it out and then get paid later?
Seriousluy?
What nonsense is this going on?
And who was this tendered out to?
And under what administrations was the previous work that no one has heard of before done?
TalRussell 11 months, 3 weeks ago
Security Minister Wayne Munroe --- Can relieve his $90 million discomfort, ---By tuning in Dr Yang's Traditional Chinese Medical Clinic --- Has set up shop ---Live-on-air in the Guardian's studio, --- Any listeners' struggling with bowel movement issues. --- Whilsts attempting to beef up falling ratings of the Guardian's Foundation with Howard "Philosopher" Grant talk show. --- **The Doctor is live-on-air in the Guardian's studio. --- Yes?
themessenger 11 months, 3 weeks ago
@comradeTal, Are you suggesting that Dr, Yangs widely aired potions are a sovereign cure for verbal diarrhoea, and has the National Security Minister been so afflicted? Say it ain't so......
Am reliably informed that native remedy, aloe, works well too,----Yes?
realfreethinker 11 months, 3 weeks ago
This reeks of corruption
birdiestrachan 11 months, 3 weeks ago
Mr Munroe seems to be more concerned with foreign women who have broken the laws of God and the Bahamas he is speaking out against the imigration officer, we can only imagine how many women will bring their children but their father dead so them and their children will get citizen ship then there is the fellow who speaks more creole on the talk show than English and they seem to be close
empathy 11 months, 3 weeks ago
Smells ‘fishy’🤨 We find it hard to believe that a Bahamian contractor with relatively little resources compared to multinational corporations that maneuver in this fashion (providing its own financing) can carry out such a project to completion. We wouldn’t even talk about ’on-time’ and ‘on-budget’🙄 Is the pursuit of this strategy meant to avoid the requirement of a bidding process?
One would think if we really wanted a Rehabilitation strategy imbedded into our Bahamian Correctional institution then we would have consulted one of the Northern European and specifically the Scandinavians whose system is built around this concept?! Not meaning to be in anyway derogatory to our American neighbors, however their known for something quite different in the ‘corrections’ world 😳
DEDDIE 11 months, 3 weeks ago
Explanation: The actual cost is 9 million. 81 million profit
John 11 months, 3 weeks ago
Does this company even have a track record or experience in construction? They were known as a solar and electronics company and was getting all of government’s work in those fields, especially on the family islands. And since the method of the awarding of the contract raises eyebrows. Is this company fronting for a foreign company to come in and construct the prison? Seems like corruption if only in the awarding process.
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