BY CLEMIA NEELY
Journal Staff Writer

Leader of the Free National Movement, Michael Pintard did not hold back while
speaking at a recent press conference at the Free National Movement headquarters
where he denounced the way the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) is running the
country, particularly on the matter of the amount of money that has been lost in
investment opportunities and what he describes as the illegal awarding of
substantial contracts.
“I want you for a moment to imagine hiring someone to manage your business, in
this case it’s the business of The Bahamas. And they start hiding the receipts of
every transaction that they engage in or the contracts that they are giving out either
to friends or to a small group of investors, and particularly without your approval.
And handing over whether its property or tangible or intangible assets of the
Bahamian people and refusing to give an explanation as to why. That’s exactly
what the Davis-Cooper Administration has been doing,” Pintard said.
Pintard added that the Progressive Liberal Party “directly awards contracts left and
right, skipping the competitive process.” He also said that “many times, they do
not know what the repayment will be because it is never disclosed. “
“Every single government contract is supposed to be disclosed. That’s the law. But
the PLP ignores the law. You know and I know there’s one law for them and it’s
another law for everyone else.” Pintard said. “They continue to violate the
Procurement Act, a law that the FNM designed to hold public officials
accountable, and to ensure that we reduce to an irreducible minimum corruption
and give every Bahamian a fair shot at winning an opportunity, winning a contract
in their country.”
Pintard said that the Progressive Liberal Party has not produced the better future
that Bahamian has hoped for. He argued that the Free National Movement has
continued to share what their visions are going forward. They believe that we
should have a fairer system in providing employment for those in the public
service, especially young people.
In response the government released a statement defending its decisions and
rejecting the suggestion that it has acted illegally.

The statement noted that The Office of the Prime Minister completed a review of
the decision-making process and the timelines related to the publication of a list of
contracts concluded with various vendors in accordance with the Public
Procurement Act.
It said the Prime Minister has also taken note of the public discussion surrounding
a particular allocation included in the published list.
“Contrary to the Opposition’s claims of improper motive, the Prime Minister is
satisfied that no improper intent or malfeasance occurred. An administrative error
resulted in the inclusion of a contract and a specific allocation that had, in fact,
been paused by the Prime Minister prior to the publication of the list,” the
statement read.
It went on to say that by way of background, there was—and remains—an urgent
need for public works in Grand Bahama.
Believed to be in connection to a proposed $183 million 98 miles of road works on
West Grand Bahama the statement explained that “an international financial
organization had settled a prequalification amount with a particular vendor, and the
matter proceeded from there toward a conclusion.
“Upon this being brought to the Prime Minister’s attention, he instructed that the
matter be set aside for further review. Unfortunately, that instruction was not
reflected in the list that was subsequently published, which has led to regrettable
confusion.”
The statement further explained, “The model of the vendor in question is that of a
project manager. As such, the allocated funding would not have gone to a single
contractor but rather to several contractors operating in Grand Bahama.”
The government reminded the public that the Public Procurement Act provides for
the single sourcing of contracts under certain conditions.

“The review by the Office of the Prime Minister is ongoing, and once it is
complete, a statement outlining the revisions will be shared with the public in
accordance with the Public Procurement Act,” the statement concluded.
Pintard came back branding the PLP statement as a sad and indefensible excuse.