By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net 

NEARLY 11 months after the Hurricane Dorian Pledging Conference was held, Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness Iram Lewis said the government is still engaged in discussions with the P3 Group.

The US based company pledged $975m in funding for Hurricane Dorian recovery projects in January.

Speaking during his ministry’s press conference yesterday, Mr Lewis said the government is expected to make a decision concerning the loan offer soon, at which point officials will then inform the public.

Noting that the group’s pledge was not the only one being considered by the government, Mr Lewis said officials will only “look for the best fit” that will ensure the storm impacted islands can rebuild more resiliently without adding to the country’s national debt.

“We have been in discussions with the P3 group, of course, along with the Ministry of Finance because anything to do with finance and commitment along that line has to deal with the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

“And we were meeting with that group last week Friday and we have a report coming out in short order because not only do we have some decisions to make because not only the P3 group but we have other groups with similar offers and once we would have made a determination with regards to the best way forward because we will do our best not to add to the national debt.

“We will look for the best fit to ensure that we build back better and without adding to our national debt as much as we can help it so, yes, discussions are ongoing and the media will be updated as soon as we come to some sort of agreement.”

Hurricane Dorian — the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in The Bahamas — is estimated to have cost the country $3.4bm in economic loss and damage to infrastructure.

During yesterday’s press conference, officials revealed that more than three million cubic yards of debris to date has been removed from Abaco and Grand Bahama via community clean up community exercises.

“This is an ongoing process and has been collaborative efforts with other government agencies, key NGO partners and the dedication of local Bahamian contractors,” said the DRA’s project director Wendell Grant.

Mr Lewis said officials are also looking for more partnerships and donations.

This comes after the Disaster Reconstruction Authority held a Hurricane Dorian Pledging Conference in January which raised over $1bn in pledges, officials said.

The conference drew some controversy due to the pledge from the P3 Group, which made up the lion’s share of commitments that day.

However, out of the $1.77bn in pledges received at January’s event, DRA’s managing director Katherine Forbes Smith said only $109,000 was actual cash donations.

“I think people have this big misconception that there is something sinister going on with these grants,” Mrs Smith said in August.

“Forty-nine people pledged that day. The total value of what was pledged is $1.77bn. Out of that $1.77bn, $109,000 was pledged in cash. So what you saw happening was we had a group that everybody knows, P3, a US based firm who had pledged $1.675bn. That was for equity financing. Then you had another maybe $92m in grants and another $34m.”