By YOURI KEMP
Tribune Business
Reporter
ykemp@tribunemedia.net
CONSTRUCTION-related corruption has been branded as a “big elephant in the room” with the potential to compromise building safety, a Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) trustee is warning.
Debbie Deal told an Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) panel discussion that illicit practices relating to permits and approvals is “one of the biggest problems” she has with the construction industry.
She said: “My biggest problem in the construction industry is that when I was building, I know that I could go in those days to the…... and say: ‘I’m having an issue with this building. What can you do? How can you help me?’ That, to me, is a conflict of interest. How can I possibly expect and really guarantee that the persons that will occupy the building are going to be safe?”
Urging government official to ensure that “everything is above board”, Ms Deal also called for the Construction Contractors Board to finally be activated to crack down on operators who are not fit to practice.
She said: “I went to the first Contractors Association meeting back in 1985, when we were talking about passing the Construction Act, but at the time nobody wanted to do it because they wanted to include lien laws, but we passed that now.
“We really need government to do whatever it can do to enforce these laws and we, as contractors, can build safe, reliable homes and businesses and buildings for the general public…. But the elephant in the room is we have created this monster. We now have to disassemble that monster by enacting the laws that are actually in place.”
Causing contractors to prepare bids for projects they will not get is a challenge when bidding on government contracts, Ms Deal said. She added that it takes “often times months” to prepare a bid for a government contract, only for it to be awarded to someone with inside knowledge or the right connections who can put in a lower bid.
In such cases, the selected contractor is often unable to complete the job and leaves it unfinished, resulting in the Government having to recall one of the rejected bidders to finish the work.
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