The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamian Contractors Association's (BCA) president yesterday branded local participation at the $200 million Pointe project as "ridiculous", and demanded proof the developer was abiding by its Heads of Agreement.

Leonard Sands also told Tribune Business he was "saddened" by the lack of unity among Bahamian contractors over issues impacting the sector, with less than 4 per cent of Bahamian contractors members of the BCA.

Reiterating his concern over the ratio of Bahamian versus Chinese workers employed at the Pointe in downtown Nassau, Mr Sands said: "It's ridiculous what's going on up there. They say the ratio is 70/30 or whatever, but I can't see it. Where is the proof of that?"

Mr Sands previously called for proof that 150 local contractors were currently employed at The Pointe, as claimed by developer China Construction America (CCA), expressing scepticism over that figure.

Daniel Liu, The Pointe's president and a CCA vice-president, told the Prime Minister and his Cabinet during a tour of the project as recently as February that 150 Bahamian contractors have been hired thus far. He added that Bahamians comprised one-third of the project's professional management team.

Mr Sands, pointing to the '150 contractors' number, previously told Tribune Business that with the global construction industry accepted as having 22 divisions, this meant The Pointe had hired an average of seven contractors per division.

He argued at the time that this made little sense given that The Pointe had only just moved beyond the foundation stage by placing vertical pilings in the ground, meaning there was no need for electrical contractors at this stage.

Mr Sands' latest comments came as photos in The Tribune showed that The Pointe's construction workforce appears to be almost entirely Chinese, as opposed to the 30 per cent stated in the project's Heads of Agreement. This, though, will likely come as little surprise to many due to a combination of weak government enforcement and the fact Chinese labour and materials follow wherever Beijing's capital goes in the world.

Robert Farquharson, director of labour, when asked about the issue yesterday, told Tribune Business: "The Department of Labour has not done a site visit at The Pointe since last year around this same time.

"At that time the company was in compliance with the ratio. I can't say what it is now but we usually do regular inspections to confirm that the provisions of the Heads of Agreement are being adhered to. Hopefully we will have one in the not too distant future."

Mr Sands described the BCA as a "voice in the darkness", raising the alarm on key issues, but lamented that there was not greater involvement by all industry players. "I can't get my guys to understand that we can only be successful if we have the numbers," he said.

"It saddens me that we can't come together. It has been proven in this country that we have been successful when we have come together. We have to be able to come together. We can't get Bahamians to be passionate about stuff like this.".

He added: "The BCA should right now have a membership of at least 2,000. We have 200 financial members. There are 6,000 contractors across the country. Most guys think that they will get a job regardless and make their money, so they don't care about coming together and advocating.

"Coming together will only increase their penetration, give them a bigger reach and a stronger voice. We can get thousands of people to go to political rallies but can't get people to stand up for their rights. Something isn't right."