Minister of Agriculture V. Alfred Gray called for all contracts involving work at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) to be revisited by officials at the Ministry of Works yesterday.

Following last week’s admission by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works Philip Davis, that BAMSI’s contractor did not have the required all risks insurance before securing the contract, Mr. Gray said it is now time to investigate further contracts regarding BAMSI.

Mr. Gray said going forward the process has to be better streamlined.

“I want to make sure that the incident that happened never happens again,” he said.

“I hope that those contractors who have contracts that do not have insurance in place consider that the Ministry of Works will look into it to make sure all of the necessities are in place because we are a government that is accountable and we simply do not need issues if they can be avoided.”

Mr. Gray said millions of dollars were lost as a result of that fire and although he doesn’t want to be a “lawyer” in the situation, he said someone should be held accountable for the lack of oversight.

“Obviously, my personal opinion with the contractor responsible for the burnt building is that the chip should fall where it should,” Mr. Gray said.

“If there wasn’t insurance, there will be legal consequences that will have to be faced and I feel sure that that is what will happen. If insurance was required and there was none, come on, it’s a no-brainer.”

Mr. Gray explained that he spoke to the contractor, who said he is willing do the right thing and pay the cost for the building to be rebuilt.

Mr. Gray explained that he has faith in government, which will ensure the building is rebuilt and the overall BAMSI project completed as smoothly as possible.