By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE having its own commission in place to make executive decisions, the Urban Renewal Small Homes Repair initiative was still subject to the influence of members of Parliament who “overruled” the standard process of selecting contractors.

This, according to the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report on SHR, presented the opportunity for “victimisation, abuse and corruption.”

In addition, the report noted that the permanent secretary approved several homes for payment in the absence of visual evidence of satisfactory repairs.

These and several other revelations pertaining to the SHR initiative were outlined in the PAC’s report, which was tabled in the House of Assembly on Wednesday after several delays.

The report noted that Urban Renewal Commission Deputy Director Gregory Butler “indicated that some home repairs and most contractors were recommended by their member of Parliament and Urban Renewal Commission had little ability to overrule the nomination.”

It added: “As a result, the quality and standards of the work can be inconsistent. This practice gives the opportunity for victimisation, abuse and corruption.

“From DD Butler’s testimony, the PAC found that a house could have attracted $9,000 worth of contracts from each of the three sources as well as others totalling $27,000 and still not attract ministerial scrutiny. Clearly the opportunity for abuse is ripe.”

The PAC also said that Urban Renewal Commission Permanent Secretary Diana Lightbourne “admitted that she signed off approval for final payment of several homes without all required documentation on file.”

“In one case she specifically stated that had she seen the photos produced by the auditor general she ‘would never have signed off on’ final payment. Clearly in this case, there was a dereliction of duty resulting in the taxpayer and homeowner not receiving value for money spent on the repairs.

“Several files reviewed showed that contractors for the SHR project were qualified if they had nothing more than a business license and was current with National Insurance. In most cases, the business license was for business other than construction/handyman or maintenance services. No technical proficiency was demanded to repair homes under this project.”

In April 2015, a copy of Auditor General Terrance Bastian’s critical report into Urban Renewal’s SHR programme was leaked to the press and sparked a debate over the management of Urban Renewal. The PAC has used the report for its investigation.

Mr Bastian highlighted a litany of concerns and weaknesses related to the SHR project’s management and expenditure.

His report revealed, for instance, that 11 contractors were paid more than $170,000 for small home repairs that were “not completed or done”.

While this was a troubling finding of the audit, the PAC’s report found a more extreme form of malfeasance when it discovered that abandoned homes were selected for repairs, the report said.

“The PAC discovered that several homes noted by the auditor general as being uninhabitable were in fact assigned to be repaired. The stated guideline for selected home repair assistance mandated that the homes were inhabited, and were owned by the occupant who must be unemployed and indigent, elderly or disabled.

“The PAC found that a house identified in the auditor general’s report on Royal Palm Street in the Centreville constituency was in fact uninhabited and unlivable as it had no windows or doors, yet a new roof was authorised for the home without doors and windows included.

“(CCMG Consultants Ltd Quantity Surveyor Lisa Tucker) did believe that it was her job to consider whether this was a sensible use of public money. She felt her remit constrained her to an assessment of whether or not the roof was properly erected.”

Ms Tucker’s conduct throughout the duration of the SHR initiative led the PAC to conclude that she was “incredibly naïve and obviously unqualified for the task she was contracted to perform.”

“CCMG lacked independence and was directed to approve completion statements for a number of unsatisfactorily completed projects based upon photograph of unverified origin. Site visits were not undertaken on a number of occasions to verify the condition of the properties before work was done, to certify the scope of work to be done, to ascertain the reasonableness of the estimates, the qualification of the contractors to do the work, the financial and documentary fitness to undertake the project or to physically inspect the work upon completion of the documented scope of work (where one existed) to certify completion in accordance with the agreed scope between owner, URC and the contractor.

“As a result of this critical breach in accepted best practice, many projects were completed with dissatisfaction to the property owners. There were also many misunderstandings by home owners as to the scope of works to be completed also resulting in dissatisfaction. Additionally projects, which did not meet the stated guidelines, were completed without regard to the most effective use of public funds.”

The PAC also found that the URC’s filing, accounting and inventory system was “haphazard” and “inadequate” to ensure proper tracking and maintenance of records.

“There was never any organised filing system at URC and no internal accounting system until September or October 2013.

“There were no proper inventory controls for the over 300 band instruments and as such several instruments were unaccounted for. Most of the cheques written for band instruments were to individuals with no support and no record of expenditure were ever produced before the PAC.

“There may have been commingling of funds as donations procured from public and private performances of the band were paid into the Police Account rather than the URC operations or any other account. The band suffers from poor organizational structure,” the PAC report said.

Labour Minister Shane Gibson, despite being a member of the PAC, also launched his own probe, which produced a minority report.

This report was read into the record of the House of Assembly on Wednesday and sought to discredit the findings of the PAC’s report.

Mr Gibson and Elizabeth MP Ryan Pinder did not sign off on the PAC’s report. Other members of the PAC include FNM MPs Hubert Chipman, St Anne’s and PAC chairman, Peter Turnquest, East Grand Bahama and Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn.