After reviewing the new policy of the Bahamas Government on PPPs (private public partnerships), Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Fred Mitchell calls it “simply too confusing.”
In a press statement Senator Mitchell said, “It seems incredibly complicated and unnecessarily so. This complicated document on PPPs is entirely in line with the practice of this Government to confuse written policies, in minute details on volumes of paper as a substitute for sensible actions.
“The written policy as now revised is simply too confusing to be understood,” he said.
“There was actually no need for it.
“If such a policy had to be written, all that was needed to be said was that private sector individuals who have access to capital and have a proposal for the government to help in its infrastructural work should submit the relevant proposals to the Ministry of Finance for reviews on the merits of the proposals,” said the former Fox Hill MP.
“There could also be a provision for the Government when it needs access to capital to make specific requests for proposals (RFP).
“This could all have been said in two pages.
“The level of bureaucracy that these present proposals envisage is frightening and would discourage anyone from trying to access an agreement with the government,” said Mr. Mitchell.
“The policy certainly also seems to discriminate against Bahamian businesses in favour of foreign businesses. Unless the playing field is leveled where Bahamian businesses are allowed to freely access foreign capital at competitive rates, the choice will always be in favour of the foreign business because US capital is cheaper than B dollar lending rates.
“I also think that there is a record of this FNM government cancelling contracts and not honouring the terms of contracts that they enter into in addition to a record of not paying contractors the monies owed. This does not bode well for any future arrangement.
“The PPP is a way to empower Bahamians. Unfortunately this new policy document will not help with that. That latter sentiment is of course no interest to the FNM,” Senator Mitchell said.
