MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016
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Allen’s $100k demand rejected by LOI group By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE group at the centre of the Renward Wells Letter of Intent (LOI) controversy rejected an exCabinet Minister’s alleged $100,000 demand for sending a solitary letter to the Government over its wasteto-energy proposal. Stellar Energy, in legal documents detailing its claim for $727.364 million in damages, claimed that Algernon Allen and his law firm sent them a $100,000 invoice after sending Mr Wells a letter that obtained “an encouraging reply”. The company’s statement of claim, filed with the Supreme Court just before Hurricane Matthew struck, alleges that it “entered into a legal representation agreement” with Mr Allen, and Allen, Allen & Company, in October 2013. A $15,000 retainer was paid to the Urban Renewal co-chair and his firm in return for providing legal services to assist Stellar with obtaining government approval for
Ex-minister allegedly sought sum for one Wells letter Stellar files for $727.364m default judgment Group ‘perplexed’ by events in LOI leak run-up its proposed $650 million waste-toenergy plant at the New Providence landfill. “At the time, the fourth defendant [Mr Allen] assured the plaintiffs [Stellar] that they would have no problem in acquiring the contract,” the statement of claim alleges. “Subsequent to the first payment, on December 6, 2013, [Mr Allen] wrote a letter to [Mr Wells], the government official responsible for the National Energy Task Force. “This letter obtained immediately See PG B5
Nine-fold increase in job placement rate now targeted By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A NINE-FOLD improvement in job seeker placement rates is being targeted by a $50 million initiative that aims to overhaul skills training and employment preparation in the Bahamas. The project, which will be funded 50/50 by matching contributions from the Government and InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), aims to improve the Department of Labour’s job seeker placement rate from the current 2 per cent to 18 per cent. Called ‘Skills for current and future jobs in the Bahamas’, it also aims to better equip young Bahamians for the demands of the 21st century workplace via apprenticeship programmes that emphasise ‘on the job’ training. IDB project documents seen by Tribune Business reveal that 1,350 Bahamians will undergo a year-long nationwide apprenticeship programme, which is funded 50/50 by the Government and employer. The three sectors targeted for the apprenticeship programme are maritime services (Grand Bahama Shipyard); the medical industry;
$50m project unveils apprenticeship initiative Designed to benefit 1,350 Bahamians Maritime, medical and IT industries targeted and information technology (IT) and telecommunications. All three were said to have been chosen because the Christie administration believes they are ripe for growth as a result of new investments. Showing just why the project is needed, the IDB documents said the 2012 ‘Wages and Productivity’ survey of the Bahamas had revealed just three industries where more than 15 per cent of the employees were aged under 25. “The survey shows that only three industries have over 15 per cent of employees under the age of 25, consistent with the fact that younger workers are perceived with a lower level of soft skills found in several consultations,” the IDB said. See PG B9
‘Mischievous fantasy’: Ex-minister hits back By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AN ex-Cabinet minister has blasted the lawsuit initiated against him by the group at the centre of the Renward Wells controversy as “mischievous, illfounded and irresponsible”. Algernon Allen told Tribune Business that himself and his law firm, Allen, Allen & Company, had already hired attorneys to defend them against the allegations being levelled against them by Stellar Energy. Disclosing that he had yet to be served with the waste-toenergy group’s ‘statement of claim’, which lays out the details underpinning its action, Mr Al-
Allen slams Stellar claims; no reply to details Says yet to be served with ‘statement of claim’ Adds LOI group move a ‘puff of wind in hurricane’ len suggested Stellar was living out “a fantasy”. While declining to directly rebut the specific claims made against himself and his law See PG B9
Matthew puts building inspection outsource ‘back on the table’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE outsourcing of building inspections “has to come back on the table for a serious conversation” if the Bahamas is to prevent future Hurricane Matthewtype devastation, the Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president believes. Leonard Sands told Tribune Business that while the Bahamas Building Code was acknowledged as “very robust”, both locally and internationally, Matthew had exposed flaws in its execution and enforcement.
Contractors chief: Key to cutting future storm damage And reducing repair bill for homeowners, taxpayers Latest hurricane exposes enforcement weaknesses LEONARD SANDS Acknowledging that the Ministry of Works may lack sufficient personnel and other resources to cover the
entire Bahamas, Mr Sands urged the Government to again look at outsourcing See PG B4
$4.04 Insurer says 15% of Matthew roof loss ‘preventable’ RoyalStar chief blames ‘shoddy workmanship’ And lack of inspection enforcement Bulk of hurricane claims to be paid pre-Christmas By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AN insurer believes 15 per cent of Hurricane Matthew-related roof damage was preventable, blaming “shoddy workmanship” and enforcement failures for exacerbating losses. Anton Saunders, RoyalStar Assurance’s managing director, told Tribune Business: “What we are seeing from some of our engineers and loss adjusters going out is that 15 per cent of the roof damage should have been preventable if contractors and roof inspectors did their jobs properly.” Blaming “shoddy workmanship and a lack of inspections”, Mr Saunders said Matthew had exposed weaknesses in both New Providence and the other hard-hit islands. “If we enforced the laws and then the inspections, some of the losses would have been mitigated and preventable, especially on the roof,” Mr Saunders said. His comments are likely to reignite debate over whether the Bahamas has the resources, will and ability to properly enforce its Building Code, and hold See PG B8