The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said government will start disclosing information about contracts within 60 days after they are awarded.

This would bring the government closer to compliance with the transparency requirements of the Public Procurement Act. The law mandates the government disclose the name and address of winning bidders, the procuring entity, the procurement selection method, and the award amount within 60 days of the contract award.

The Ministry of Finance on Sunday released a list showing 843 contracts worth $140m were awarded from September 1, 2022, to June 20, 2023.

Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard rejected the list, calling it incomplete. He said information about some contracts was not provided, highlighting a Ministry of Transport contract for navigational aids. He claimed the contractor has no experience with the relevant work.

During a press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, Mr Halkitis did not address his claim directly. But he insisted the government fully complies with the law.

“The contracts that are awarded on the system will continue to be updated,” he said. “We are complying with the legislation, but you know, just as we have with this whole EU blacklisting it seems as if some people are, you know, these goalposts continue to be moved.

“We continue to comply, we continue to train, continue to provide information. The public will have the benefit of it. We don’t expect certain quarters to ever be satisfied, alright? So, I don’t have much to say other than that.”

In a press statement yesterday, Mr Pintard doubled down on his criticisms.

“No amount of mistruths, half-truths, and deflections can explain why the PLP continues to break the procurement law,” he said. “The comments today by Minister Halkitis seeking to defend the indefensible continues to show Bahamians why the PLP cannot be trusted to govern.”

“This is not a difficult undertaking. It is common practice for decades and decades for government agencies to publish information in the newspapers.

“There is no special training required. Nor do the agencies have to produce new information on these public contracts that they do not already have. This prime minister and his Cabinet colleagues simply have no desire or intention to get it done.”