The Tribune

By NOELLE NICOLLS

Tribune Features Editor

nnicolls@tribunemedia.net

OVER 1600 gallons of fuel was stolen from the Ministry of Works’ Fuel Depot in a weekend heist late last month prompting a police investigation. The fuel depot dispenses gasoline and diesel worth millions of dollars for use in government owned heavy duty equipment and passenger vehicles.

The theft has frustrated some employees who claim the government’s fuel depot is being used to supply a black market. Although the issue has gone public since the most recently documented theft, it is has been a known issue dating back to the former government, said sources. Despite efforts to implement checks and balances, there continues to be a frustrating amount of leakage.

Colin Higgs, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, said

investigating the theft is “an absolute priority” for the government, which

is why the police were called in.

Fuel at the John F Kennedy depot is stored in large tanks above the ground.

“The culprits probably used some sort of bilge pump to syphon the gas,”

according to a source with knowledge of the matter. They would have needed access to the top of the tanks, which are locked.

Another source speculated that 1600 gallons could be taken out in 55 gallon drums. “If you put four drums on a truck that is about seven truck loads.

“They could fill them in the day and tow them at night,” said the source.

“You could sell it on the black market at $4.50 or $5/gallon and have a

lucrative market. After all, gasoline at the pump is about $5.40 and

climbing.”

“The recession is so deep everyone is looking for a side gimmick: the

crooks and the normal population are looking for cheaper sources of energy. The thing about government is that there is no ownership and no

accountability. When you are tiefing from government, nobody owns it

because it is everybody’s own. The proper controls are usually not in place and no one is checking: Erryting is erryting,” said the source.

Police would not disclose to The Tribune who is actually investigating the

reported crime. Superintendent Paul Rolle, Officer-in-Charge of the Central Detective Unit, insisted on two occasions last week that he is unaware of any investigation. He said if there were an investigation, he would have known about it. A lower level investigator speculated that perhaps the matter has not moved through the chain of command as yet.

However, officers visited the fuel depot last week to collect evidence and

are reviewing a “revealing” security video, according to sources. The video allegedly shows a “loaded down box truck” that might be connected to the weekend theft.

One source said he was concerned about the nonchalance of the police, who themselves seem to hold the view that “this sort of theft is no big deal because it has been happening for a long time.” The source said he hopes pressure is put on the police to conduct “a serious investigation.”

Permanent Secretary Higgs said he has every confidence the investigation will bear fruit, and depending on the outcome, the government could also pursue internal action against employees. “We are on top of it,”he said.

While complaints have only reached The Tribune concerning the fuel depot at the Ministry of Works, the government manages several fuel depots, and allocates millions of dollars annually to the purchase of fuel from FOCOL Holdings.

Each ministry and department has a line item in the government’s published budget specifying “gasoline” expenditure as a subcategory under “Rent, Communication and Utilities.” The major allocations for 2013 included:

$247,745 for the Ministry of Works; $70,000 for the Ministry of Finance;

$2,680,000 for the Royal Bahamas Police Force (plus $400,000 for diesel); and $400,000 for the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (plus $2,300,000 for diesel).

The police and defence force have their own fuel depots, but most of the

other government ministries and departments get fuel through the main

depot at the Ministry of Works.

The Stores Department has carriage of fuel distribution and purchases for the Ministry of Works, said Mr Higgs. “They are responsible for reconciling the thousands of gallons of fuel coming in and out of the government system.”