“On assuming office as executive chairman of the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority in August 2017 and throughout my tenure, established procedures were followed.” — Shanendon Cartwright
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Opposition Leader Michael Pintard said yesterday that while the Free National Movement (FNM) is prepared to accept criticisms related to deficiencies of protocols at the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority (BPPPBA) and other government ministries, the Davis administration and those who represent it ought to demonstrate “intellectual honesty”.
During a press conference at the FNM’s headquarters on Mackey Street, the FNM leader said these deficiencies of financial management of government business and protocols have existed for decades, including under the last previous PLP administration.
He was referring to a report produced by K Christie and Co. Chartered Accountants, which revealed a combination of “material weaknesses” and “significant deficiencies” that it said created an environment to facilitate overruns.
The authority repeatedly went over its budget by millions; had irregularities related to the issuance of contracts; did not require Know Your Customer identification from vendors to be placed on file; multiple contracts were issued to individuals using different company names, and the board failed to meet regularly and require certain reports such as budget versus actual performance.
The authority will terminate all existing contracts in a legal manner and pay every vendor with a valid contract, according to Press Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Clint Watson.
Yesterday, Pintard said the government needs to be explicit in providing a timetable for paying Bahamians who have worked and not been paid since July to maintain parks, roadways, and other facilities.
He also said he believes if the list of contractors are reviewed today and looked at again in a couple of months “those persons who are calling them who belong to the PLP family are likely to have those contracts renewed, which would suggest that the decision being made — much of the narrative being shared in the public to muddy the water is about creating a pretext to eliminate one group of Bahamians from holding contracts to replace with another group of Bahamians”.
Pintard called on “tribalism” to stop.
Pintard also called on the government to state whether the report was put out for competitive bidding if it was paid for.
In a statement, Shanendon Cartwright, the former executive chairman of the authority, said since assuming office as executive chairman of the authority in August 2017, “and throughout my tenure, established procedures were followed”.
He pointed out that report indicates that ‘most contracts adhered to the documentation requirements of the authority’.
He said he looks forward to the completion of the government’s assessment of the matter, at which time he will respond.
He has previously said he never did anything untoward.
Deficiencies
The final report is expected to be tabled in Parliament in January.
Pintard said once tabled there will be a response, line by line.
“Various ministries and departments and authorities have some fundamental problems in the protocols we have in place for the financial management of government business,” Pintard said.
“So the report recently released, I do not believe that there is anyone who worked for example at parks and beaches who will take issue with any deficiency that has been pointed out in the infrastructure or the protocols to manage the government’s business.
“What is interesting though is that when the Progressive Liberal Party talks about deficiencies in various ministries and departments they speak about it as if they have political amnesia as if those deficiencies did not predate the time that the Free National Movement was in office.”
Pintard said: “The reality is we have deficiencies unfortunately that has continued in some cases for decades and it is unfortunate — it does not let the Free National Movement off the hook because we came in to make the system better and you will hear over the course of the next month, particularly in January, you will hear the improvements that have been made in a number of ministries, but in particular in parks and beaches.”
Pintard said it is important for those who represent the government to demonstrate what he deemed “intellectual honesty in terms of again, owning what the present government has not been able to correct when it had authority and we accept any criticisms where we have not moved it further than it needs to be”.
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