By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive has described as “certainly curious” revelations that Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) awarded multi-million dollar contracts to entities that were not the best bidder.
Edison Sumner told Tribune Business it was difficult to comment further on the allegations by Desmond Bannister, minister of works, without knowing more about the specific tendering process or how BPL’s contract awards were supposed to function.
But he emphasised that it was “important to restore a level of confidence” in the transparency and fairness of the Government’s procurement processes, otherwise “a shadow of inequity” would continue to hang over many contract awards.
“It’s important to restore confidence in the system,” Mr Sumner told this newspaper. “If we don’t restore confidence, we will have this shadow of inequity or an unlevel playing field when bidding for these contracts.
“It’s important to have a level of confidence that the process is fair to all. Even of they don’t get the contract, at least companies go through knowing the process was fair to them.”
Mr Bannister’s House of Assembly revelations last week may have further harmed this confidence, as he alleged that firms with ties to Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Cabinet ministers and supporters were handed lucrative brokerage and insurance contracts despite not being selected as the preferred/best bidder.
The Minister claimed that Bahamas Cargo & Logistics (BCL), a firm owned by the father of former education, science and technology minister, Jerome Fitzgerald, was awarded a BPL contract despite Pinder’s Customs Brokerage being identified as the best bidder.
He alleged that the same happened with BPL’s insurance brokerage contract, which went to Sir Franklyn Wilson’s Sunshine Insurance rather than J. S. Johnson, the best bidder. Mr Bannister also cited a $4.592 million contract awarded to Penta Industrial Services, the company of PLP chairman emeritus, Errington “Minky” Isaacs, without any evidence of competitive bidding.
Mr Sumner, though, expressed hope that the reforms planned as part of the IDB-financed Public Financial Management initiative will transform public procurement mechanisms for the better, making bidding processes and contract awards far more transparent.
“The revelations that came out of BPL were a surprise to us,” he told Tribune Business. “Going forward we should see the improvement in public procurement. The Government is making moves that started before the election.
“If you’re looking at having a level of confidence in public financial management, and restoring a level of confidence in the way contracts are awarded, that process is going to be very important. When you bid on a contract, and are trying to get jobs from public entities, transparency and accountability in the process is key.”
The Bahamas’ system of governance has evolved as a wonderful system of patronage, where supporters of whichever party in power tend to be awarded the lion’s share of government contracts, regardless of ability and/or capability.
This has undermined the development of Bahamian society as a meritocracy, and also contributed to the Government’s multi-million dollar annual deficits and $7.2 billion national debt by denying taxpayers value for money.
Mr Sumner emphasised that the Government did not necessarily have to select the lowest bidder, but agreed that governance improvements were vital to restore investor confidence in the Bahamas.
“There are so many things that need to be done,” he told Tribune Business, “but we’re satisfied that things are being put in place on the Government side to take corrective action, and improve our image and management of the country’s assets.
“As we go through and improve the public procurement process, we expect the system will be more conducive to anyone wanting to submit a bid, with the expectation that the process will be fair, transparent and equitable for all concerned.”
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