The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

With the Bahamian construction industry “on its knees”, the Government was yesterday again urged to mandate that all major foreign direct investment (FDI) projects engage local contractors.

Stephen Wrinkle, a former Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) president, described as “a sad situation” complaints that Bahamian contractors, and construction workers, were unable to get work on Bimini’s latest multi-million dollar investments.

Tribune Business revealed last week that Mexicans and Dominicans were working on the Bimini airport expansion and Genting’s new $150 million hotel, prompting Mr Wrinkle to call for Bahamian contractor participation to be mandated in FDI Heads of Agreement.

Suggesting that joint ventures between Bahamians and their foreign counterparts might be the best solution, Mr Wrinkle said Genting’s investments were occurring at a time when many in the local industry were in dire straits.

“The contractors are a big part of this country, and right now they’re on their knees,” he told Tribune Business. “That’s not a good place to be, as they employ a lot of people.”

Illustrating the minimal level of work for many, Mr Wrinkle said some 25 contractors had signed up to take a Level One certification course he was teaching on Eleuthera.

Yet although all 25 confirmed they would attend, just five showed up on the day.

“They had school fees that were due, and did not have the financial means to come down and take the course,” Mr Wrinkle told this newspaper.

“They wanted to improve themselves, wanted to get the certification, but they couldn’t afford to take time off the job as they have no money. There’s work going on, but they can’t get it.”

Focusing on Bimini, Mr Wrinkle acknowledged the logistical difficulties Bahamian contractors often faced in getting men and materials from Nassau to the island.

Speaking from experience through having worked on Cat Cay, the immediate past BCA president said the failure of Bahamian contractors to obtain more work lay in the Heads of Agreement terms that had been negotiated with the developer.

“Unless clear and precise wording is included in these Heads of Agreement specifically mandating Bahamian contractor participation - what we got with Baha Mar - it’s hard to get Bahamian involvement,” Mr Wrinkle told Tribune Business.

While it was “far more expensive” to get Bahamian contractors to relocate to Family Islands such as Bimini, Mr Wrinkle conceded that foreign specialist contractors were often “more efficient”, possessing the latest equipment and techniques.

They were also more experienced in working on large-scale development projects than their Bahamian counterparts, leading Mr Wrinkle to propose joint ventures between local and foreign firms as the best solution.

And, unless there was ‘knowledge transfer’ from foreign contractor to Bahamian, Mr Wrinkle said this nation would “never break this chain”.

He added: “We have forever lived in this chain of little bits and bobs of work. The Government can give them incentives in the Heads of Agreement to do this.

“But unless and until the Government of the day makes it a policy and mandates it in the Heads of Agreement, it will not happen. You have to mandate it.

“The contractors need to participate in these big projects, not only for monetary gain, but for the expertise and experience these international contractors bring. The only person that can make that happen is the Government.”