By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Agriculture and Marine Science Institute contractor Audley Hanna said yesterday that he is willing to construct the facility’s fire-damaged dormitory from scratch, at no cost to taxpayers, following revelations that the building was not insured.

Mr Hanna, of Paradigm Construction, said he did not know where he will get the money to rebuild the structure in North Andros, but would find it if the government re-engages him.

On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis revealed that the contractor did not have an insurance policy for the structure, although he was legally required to submit the original all-risk insurance document to receive stage payments.

“If it means I have to put the building back to the way it was, I’ll do that but that ain’t my call, that’s the government’s call,” Mr Hanna told The Tribune.

“I’ll do it and it wouldn’t be any cost to them.”

When asked where he would find the resources to rebuild the dorm, he said: “I don’t know, but I could find it if it becomes necessary to.”

Mr Davis has said that the cost for rebuilding the structure, which will be reconfigured for double occupancy instead of single, would be around $5.5 million.

Mr Hanna did not give a direct response when asked about the fact that he did not insure the $2.6 million structure. However, he urged this newspaper to question the motives behind the decision to set the dormitory on fire.

He noted that the man accused of the arson attack, Dave Dion Moxey, 50, is a relative of FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis.

The Tribune has confirmed that Mr Moxey is a distant relative of the Killarney MP.

“This is a lot deeper that y’all realise,” Mr Hanna said.

A massive fire gutted the male dormitory at BAMSI on January 15. Following the blaze, officials in the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Agriculture gave mixed answers in the face of questions about the building’s insurance.

On February 25, Mr Davis initially told the House of Assembly that the building had a lapsed insurance policy because Mr Hanna had failed to pay the annual insurance premium that covered the structure.

But Wednesday, he backtracked from those comments. He said he did not receive the contractor’s file until March 2, which was when he said he learned the facts of the matter. He said the contractor had only provided the Ministry of Works with a quote for insurance coverage for six months from RoyalStar Assurance.

Last month, Mr Hanna told a reporter that he thought the dormitory was insured at the time of the fire by a company called Southern Alliance.