NASSAU — The Chairman Emeritus of the Progressive Liberal Party, Bradley Roberts, says the Long Island Water main contracts reeks with corrupt cronyism, the Bahama Journal reported on May 14.
Mr. Roberts, who is recovering at home from surgery, said in a commentary yesterday that “one of the latest salvo is the contract awarded to Bahamas Hot Mix (BHM) in the wake of the 9 April 2018 opening of the sealed tenders for the water mains in Long Island.”
“First of all, Bahamas Hot Mix Limited did not submit the lowest bid,” Mr. Roberts claimed. “In fact, this New Providence-based company submitted one of the highest bids for this project. I am constrained to ask why BHM was selected. What added value does BHM bring this project to justify their selection given the fact that BHM’s bid was more than $3 million or a whopping 239% higher than the Long Island construction firm, Rowdy Boys Construction? BHM bid was $5.41 million and Rowdy Boys bid $2.26 million, a difference of $3.14 million.”
When he was the Minister with responsibility for public works and the public corporation Water and Sewerage (WSC), Mr. Roberts said he “engaged the professional services of Rowdy Boys therefore I am well aware of the quality of their work nationwide.”
“The mobilization cost of New Providence-based companies such as BHM places them at a distinct disadvantage and the BHM’s bid price clearly confirms this,” Roberts said. “This contract award is one of the latest decisions of this government to fly in the face of what is now the empty campaign rhetoric of Dr. Minnis and the FNM about eliminating public waste, becoming more fiscally responsible and being better stewards of the public purse. Did I mention eliminating corruption and cronyism to make way for the people’s time? We now know this to be a bunch of hot air that rings hollow.”
