By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE “millions of dollars” spent by the former Ingraham administration to “refurbish” the current office of the Attorney General was the direct result of decisions made by Labour and National Security Minister Shane Gibson, Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Chairman Dr Duane Sands said yesterday.
His comments follow Mr Gibson’s announcement that the government has awarded a $20 million contract to Lloyd Smith of Holiday Industrial Builders International (HIBI) to construct a government complex on John F Kennedy Drive to house the Ministry of National Security.
HIBI was contracted in 2004 to construct a complex that was initially slated to house the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation (BMC), but now houses the office of the Attorney General.
Although the company was terminated by the FNM when the cost for the project expanded, an arbitration determined that the termination was wrongful and that HIBI was to be paid “just shy of $700,000.”
The cost of that complex was initially budgeted at $5.8 million, but that rocketed to more than $32 million because of wastage by the Ingraham administration, Mr Gibson claimed this week. However, Dr Sands said the minister is “excluding important facts.”
“The Minister neglected to say that the new Attorney General’s office complex, designed and built to his personal specifications, was originally meant to house the offices of the BMC. The addition of an extra floor, after construction had commenced, to accommodate his offices as the Minister responsible for the Corporation and which required the roof of the building to be replaced, was found … to have been a major contributing factor to the project’s scheduling and cost overrun problems.”
Dr Sands added that in addition there were problems with the building’s design and construction, including “the failure of the contractor to install insulated, hurricane resistant windows” and the instalment of inadequate electrical wiring.
Dr Sands said to facilitate changes ordered by Mr Gibson “some $8,301, 291 in expenditure was approved by BMC” on top of the initial contract budget of nearly $5.8 million.
He said: “The Bahamian people should also be aware that in March 2007, Shane Gibson, as Minister of Housing responsible for (National Insurance Board) NIB and BMC, without Cabinet or Ministry of Finance approval, instructed the NIB board to make a loan of $7 million to the BMC to cover additional construction costs for the new BMC office building.”
Under the FNM, Dr Sands said, the NIB purchased the building for $17,799,429.
He added that NIB then expended “some $9.1 million” on electrical repairs, anticipated electrical repairs, carpet replacement and furniture installation among other things. He noted that through it all the BMC “still does not have a home.”
“Following such a horrible experience and misuse of funds,” he said, the minister “running the most incompetent ministry in the country” should not have awarded a $20 million contract to HIBI.
Comments
newcitizen 9 years, 11 months ago
Now begins the typical back and forth of which corrupt government was to blame. They both were!
We need to pass a Freedom of Information Act, and it needs to be done now. We have to start investigating where our tax dollars are going. We need to vote the corruption and ineptitude out of our government!
ThisIsOurs 9 years, 11 months ago
All of this money they could find to build comfy offices for themselves, do what they want but the prison officers walking around in the sh$# they allow to fester. This is disgraceful...absolutely disgraceful. Are any if these projects in the 2013/2014 budget? If they aren't which items were bumped off to accommodate them? This government has got to go, seriously, I gave them the benefit of the doubt initially but it became clear quite quickly that they don't have a clue what they doing, they exercise ZERO fiscal responsibility and they only care about their personal comfort, as Fred Mitchell says he needs a new office because he feels too cramped, he "does not like" the building...so spend 50million to give him a new office befitting his personal tastes.
rony 9 years, 11 months ago
They talk of all these thousands and millions of dollars and can't keep these dirty streets clean. I saw a dead dog on Tonique Williams Darling hwy it stayed there until it turned to bones! The bones are still there! Nassau is a sh#t whole and they continue to do wasteful spending
ThisIsOurs 9 years, 11 months ago
Amen! And they talking about showing us to the world? For what purpose? So everyone could see our dress eehn pull down properly in the back? I don't know where these people live and what streets they drive on the city is unplanned, uncoordinated and filthy.
birdiestrachan 9 years, 11 months ago
I doubt Dr. Sands know what he is talking about. He did have problems with the Police Crime report, and gave his own report. but he was put in his place by real former Police.. Dr. Sands is very greedy for power. But he has no idea of how to walk with the common man. so he need not pretend that he does.
ThisIsOurs 9 years, 11 months ago
Really birdie? The one thing I would never attribute to Dr Sands is that he does not know what he is talking about. I also doubt it's a claim that any sensible, objective individual could make. WATCH HIM. He never rushes a statement, he ponders a question and gives a reasoned response. I am sure there are lots of things he does not know but as even as he is, I'm sure he wouldn't resort to speaking out of his butt as some people famously do.
I can't say that he knows how to walk with the common man, but personally, I'd give him a chance to lead, I am tired of these posers with the "common touch" who are robbing us blind right in front of our face, sailing around in their million dollar yachts, reclining in their million dollar homes, partying at Nygard and laughing at how easy it all is
SP 9 years, 11 months ago
No news here...Just everyday piracy in the Bahamas.
It took the PLP and FNM 12 years to build Nassau Street court building....and it's still not fully completed today!
Untold $Millions disappeared while both parties shuffled back and forth with different contractors.
Now we have the new hospital extension where more $Millions of tax payers dollars have disappeared into thin air while the extension cannot be occupied and no one can say where the money went & why original specifications were incorrect and useless in the first place.
Both parties are a joke and couldn't be trusted with a bag of rotten fish!
John 9 years, 11 months ago
Seems like the wise thing to do here is to stop, review and audit this contract before construction gets out the ground. How can a building that originally cost under $6 million now cost over $20 million to build? How can a government that seems hell bent on piling more taxes on the backs of Bahamians be so incompetent, lousy, dishonest or corrupt (or all of the above) when handling the people's money? Regardless of who was at fault, at least 20 million was abused, misused or stolen? HEADS SHOULD ROLL!!
Straight_Talk_Bahamas 9 years, 11 months ago
This seems to be getting overlooked. It is a clear conflict of interest and should NEVER happen. Never. And anyone with integrity would not act in this manner.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID