THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2016
business@tribunemedia.net
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‘Not enough good people to right Bahamas’ ship’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The Bahamas “lacks enough good people to right the ship”, a leading governance reform advocate said yesterday, as it continues to lose more than two-thirds of its brightest minds every year. Robert Myers, a principal with the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), said he had been informed by College of the Bahamas (COB) professors that 70 per cent of their graduates headed for jobs overseas. With just 25 per cent of Bahamian high school
Governance reformer: 70% of COB grads leave ‘Brain drain’ must return for nation to have chance ‘No business in Govt’ if not addressing governance Robert Myers
graduates moving on to tertiary education, Mr Myers added that this nation was retaining less than onethird of those best-placed
to become this nation’s next generation of entrepreneurs, managers and political leaders. He warned that if the Ba-
hamas was to successfully implement far-reaching financial and governance reforms, and resolve its growing debt crisis, it needed to reverse this ‘brain drain’ and convince citizens living abroad to return home. “There aren’t enough good people, quality people in this country because of the poor education that has persisted for so many years,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business. “There aren’t enough people in the country to right the ship. That’s going to require convincing some of our brain drain over the last 20-30 years to come back to the Bahamas and See pg b6
Small Homes overseer Central Bank eyes just a ‘rubber stamp’ giving firms access By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Urban Renewal’s Small Homes repair programme was overseen by an unqualified quantity surveyor who admitted to being used to “rubber stamp” completion certificates for unverified construction work. The Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) majority report on the programme, finally tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, found that Lisa Tucker and her CCMG Consultants firm met their contractual obligations “mostly in the breach, rather than their observance”. The report, signed by its three FNM members, said the issuance of completion certificates, without any checks to ensure construction work had been properly performed, potentially compromised the health and safety of the very persons the programme was designed to help - low income Bahamian homeowners and tenants. The trio of MPs, Hubert Chipman, K P Turnquest and Richard Lightbourn, added that this also exposed the Government to potential liability, and showed that the Small Homes repair initiative did not deliver “value for money” to the Bahamian taxpayer. Detailing the findings from their September 17, 2015, meeting with Ms Tucker, the majority report said she was “constantly pressured” by Urban Renewal Commission and
‘Pressured’ to sign-off without checking work Quantity Surveyor ‘unqualified’, ‘incredibly naive’ Checks, balances ‘observed more in breach’ Ministry of Works personnel to override “accepted best practice” in the construction industry. The report quoted Ms Tucker as saying: “I resented all of the pressure being deployed against me by people like Ricardo Smith, and I sent an e-mail in protest. “I work in an orderly fashion, and they expected me to ‘rubber stamp’ everything.” As a result, the PAC’s FNM members concluded: “The witness admitted to being nothing more than a ‘rubber stamp’, and claimed she was constantly pressured by staff at Urban Renewal, specifically Ricardo Smith, and other personnel at the Ministry of Works to issue completion certificates without the benefit of having done site inspections for various projects. “She said that Mr Smith habitually sat in her office until the certificates of completion were signed. It is clear in this case that the Bahamian taxpayer and the homeowners concerned did See pg b6
to foreign finance By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Central Bank of the Bahamas is eyeing further exchange control liberalisation measures that would allow Bahamian companies to obtain capital and financing overseas, in a bid to improve credit access. The monetary policy regulator yesterday issued a survey to Bahamian companies, in a bid to gain data on the “issues and financial circumstances” facing businesses of all sizes. The survey, which was distributed via the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) to its members, appears to be an attempt to obtain empirical evidence that would justify another “phase” of exchange control liberalisation.
Planning new exchange control relaxation phase Also opening participation in foreign investments Seeking empirical data from business community Besides potentially giving Bahamian businesses access to foreign financing sources, and cheaper, more competitive interest rates (borrowing costs), the Central Bank added that another goal was to remove obstacles to their participation in, and the financing of, investments overseas. See pg b4
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Ex-BCA chief slams ‘corner cutting’ over Small Home repairs By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net An ex-Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) president yesterday slammed the Government’s “corner cutting” on Urban Renewal’s Small Home repairs, saying it provided a “snapshot” of the country’s woes. Stephen Wrinkle told Tribune Business that the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) majority report had further emphasised the urgent need to pass the Contractors Bill so that Bahamians had some protection against shoddy workmanship. He added that the report’s revelations were likely the “tip of the iceberg”, and spotlighted “the serious trouble” that the Bahamas is in when it comes to governance and corruption issues. The majority report by the PAC’s three FNM MP members, Hubert Chipman, K P Turnquest and See pg b5
‘Tip of iceberg’; shows Bahamas ‘in big trouble’ Contractor Business Licences ‘for other professions’ ‘Most’ hired on MP urgings; no ability to refuse
Stephen Wrinkle
Sandals ‘renders academic’ legal bid to end union By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Sandals’ refusal to let “the fat lady sing” has “rendered academic” a Court of Appeal verdict that reinstated its legal bid to eradicate its union adversary. Appeal Court president, Dame Anita Allen, said Sandals Royal Bahamian’s termination of its former See pg b4
Court: Terminations met Judicial Review goals Resort ignores judge’s ‘fat lady has sung’ assertion Failed to treat with union for 6 years, ignoring law