By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

DNA LEADER Branville McCartney yesterday joined growing speculation over the bidding process to construct a government complex to house the Ministry of National Security. Mr McCartney questioned the government’s tender process following reports that a $20m contract was awarded to Holiday Industrial Builders International (HIBI) for a building on John F Kennedy Drive.

The building will be a replica of the construction project for the building that currently houses the Office of the Attorney General – from which the company was terminated “without cause” during the former Ingraham-led administration.

Last week, National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson said he would table details concerning the bidding process for the new building when the House resumes on Wednesday.

In a statement yesterday, Mr McCartney said there was a lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the awarding of the multi-
million dollar contract. “We as Bahamians ought to know the answers to these questions as it is our money this government is spending.

“In the wake of yet another back door deal concluded by this administration, the DNA resumes its call for the passage of a Freedom of Information Act. Without this key piece of legislation, the country and its citizens will continue to suffer from the political and economic imbalances which impede any chance of long-term growth and enhanced development.

“As the country continues to face a myriad of economic challenges, we have been burdened with a government who chooses to act in the interest of a select few rather than the majority. As a people, we should be outraged by the lack of transparency and accountability of this PLP administration and start to prepare for a new government that will work in the best interest of this country.”

In addition to demanding answers on the select tender process, Mr McCartney also accused the government of cronyism.

News of the contract was met with criticism from the Opposition MP for Central Grand Bahama Neko Grant, the former Minister of Works, who branded HIBI as a “non-performing contractor” given challenges during the construction of the building that currently houses the Office of the Attorney General.

The building had been temporarily used by the Ministry of Tourism, but was originally slated for the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation (BMC) and the Department of Housing when the first contract for its construction was signed between the BMC and Lloyd Smith of HIBI in 2004.

Former BMC Chairman Dr Duane Sands called on the government to consider the interests of the Bahamian people, adding that the country could not “digest another construction fiasco”. He called HIBI’s handling of the previous project an “overpriced disaster”.

The BMC terminated its contract with Holiday Industrial in November 2008, after which an independent review of the project by Construction Cost Engineering (CCE) was commissioned by the National Insurance Board (NIB).

HIBI’s legal counsel challenged the termination and were successful in arbitrating the matter, according to attorney Kelphene Cunningham, who said the total sum of money paid to HIBI upon completion of arbitration was “just shy of $700,000”.

Ms Cunningham said the decision to cancel the previous contract awarded to HIBI was “purely for political expediency”.

Yesterday, Mr McCartney said: “These irresponsible actions of the government suggests that this Christie-led administration has continued with its old tricks, using their power and influence to ensure that their friends, families and selected supporters are well taken care of.

“The Democratic National Alliance asserts that the contract awarded is purely political and maintains it is the repayment of an election time debt and perhaps lays the groundwork for the party to receive future campaign donations.”