“Urban Renewal Commission blasts Auditor General’s Report”

Bahamas Information Services

April 14^th, 2015

Excerpt from this article; “NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Urban Renewal Commission responded to a report provided by Bahamas Auditor General Terrance Bastian on the Urban Renewals Small Home Repair programme at a press conference, April 14, at the Urban Renewal Commission’s headquarters at Centerville House.

Co-Chair of Urban Renewal Commission Algernon Allen responded to the submission of the Auditor General that the Small Homes Repair (SHR) programme allowed internal controls to expose the government to insufficiency and abuse of funds with the observation: ‘I am of the firm view that the Auditor General has failed to appreciate the philosophy of Urban Renewal; more specifically; the philosophy of the Small Homes Repairs Project, thus making the erroneous statement in is Audit report.’

The co-chairs of the Urban Renewal program claims to be innocent of any and all wrong-doing but continue to act as if they have something to hide’, ‘……the Auditor General has failed to appreciate the philosophy of Urban Renewal; just because during the course of this job, a financial audit of the Urban Renewal programme, he found some ‘financial discrepancies’; seriously?  This is as stupid as saying that just because I may not agree with communism, that I do not appreciate the philosophy behind it; totally asinine.

While the rest of the country was captivated by the shenanigans of the “Hon.” V.  Alfred Gray and his letter that he now attempts to down play or explain way; a $2.1 billion proposal for an agri-fisheries project with the Chinese government; one that someone said today that was only a proposal but I had to remind and caution them that with this Christie led administration, the ink was probably dried on a contract somewhere concerning this matter; the financial issues’ of Urban Renewal have again come to light and as the ‘story evolves’, it only becomes that more amazing.

The first line of defense was that the Auditor General, Terrance Bastian, was a political incompetent’, this has since evolved as the PLP continue their attempts to keep the co-chairs of this programme out of the ‘hot-seat.’

“Minister admits to Small Homes surveyor did not produce properly”

• And contractors not required to show proficiency
• Public Accounts minority back key FNM findings
• Brand China Ambassador’s conflict as ‘moot’ – The Tribune Business Section – 11.04.2016

Excerpt from this article; A Cabinet Minister has admitted that the company hired to oversee Urban Renewals $3.2 million Small Homes repairs project was out of its depth, and there were minimum qualifications required from contractors.

The Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) minority report, while intended to rebut the findings of its FNM’s majority report, actually backed up several of the letters key findings when it came to project oversight and contractor quality.”

So, they way out is now to say “yes, you are right, but it was due to the incompetence of others?”

Are we to accept this in the case of the contractor that was building a major government building without the required Contractors All Risk Insurance?

How is it the Progressive Liberal Party always seems to find ‘someone’ more incompetent then themselves to point the finger at when things go ‘horribly wrong’?

At BAMSI it was promised that ‘heads would roll’, but to date we still wait; now we are dealing with financial discrepancies at Urban Renewal and while the Auditor General was never reprimanded for making such an egregious ‘mistake’, now the mistakes are being admitted to but it was fault of CCMG Consulting, the quantity surveyor hired finding the task ‘stressful and daunting’, that caused these ‘oversights’?

After four and half years of overseeing a $3.2 million initiative?

Who is over overseeing this entire program on behalf of the Bahamian taxpayer that is footing the bill for any ‘lost’ revenue?

Really who is watching this ‘candy shop’?

The Progressive Liberal Party fails for one reason, it is their nature.

END