Press Statement By
The Progressive Liberal Party
On The Saunders Beach Restoration Contract Award
Tuesday 28th, February, 2012
As the country struggles to remain afloat under the leadership of Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, the FNM Government continues to award lucrative infrastructure contracts to a select few, on the eve of this country’s general elections. This is the same FNM Party that heavily criticized the PLP for awarding contracts leading up to the 2007 general elections. This level of contract awarding makes what the PLP was accused of look like the rendering of a Sunday school choir.
The budget deficit engineered by this FNM Government will be the highest in the history of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
According to a ZNS New report, http://youtu.be/ZtbcWg97CMw , another ‘negotiated’ contract was awarded yesterday to the joint-venture team of Bahamas Marine Construction Company and Tycoon Management Company, for The Saunders Beach Restoration.
This new contract award amounts to a total of some six infrastructure contracts awarded solely and/or in joint-venture to Bahamas Marine Construction Company, totaling well over $100 million dollars.
Bahamas Marine, [http://www.mosko.com/building/marine.html] which is owned by the Mosko Family, recently completed the $80 Million Arawak Container Port Development, and is currently carrying out the $50 million plus infrastructure development at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. In addition, the company was awarded the contract to improve the bridges in Andros Island. Prior to this Bahamas Marine was in joint-venture on the dredging and improvement of Nassau Harbour and the Prince George Dock improvement contract.
There is purportedly a linkage between Bahamas Marine and Bahamas Hot Mix [http://www.bahamashotmix.com/], who apparently supplies all of the asphalt paving needs for Mosko’s projects, as evidenced by both the new West Bay Street at Cable Beach roadworks and the paving at the new Arawak Port facility. It would be a surprise if a similar arrangement is not in place for the New Gladstone Customs Warehouse Facility.
The Prime Minister often refers to the ‘Cookie Jar’ but, as recently revealed by the Hon Neko C. Grant in Parliament, it appears that the ‘cookie jar’ is really being raided by the FNM party and its cronies. The Minister of Works revealed that Bahamas Hot Mix, one of the ‘select few’, benefited to the tune of almost one hundred million dollars in contract works, as did FES Construction Company [http://www.fesconstruction.cbt.cc/aboutUs.html], in spectacular fashion in the Northern Bahamas. The company was first awarded a $23 Million contract to construct the new Administration Complex in Freeport and then a contract for $27 million to construct the Marsh Harbour Abaco International Airport Terminal.
The Grand Bahama based FES Construction [http://www.fesconstruction.cbt.cc/history.html] is owned by a close relative of the Prime Minister, whose business partner is the father in law of Pakesia Parker–Edgecombe. The ‘E’ in the company’s name stands for Edgecombe. Mrs. Parker-Edgecombe’s husband also works for FES Construction,
All of the above speaks to cronyism and nepotism, which equates to a ‘family feast’ and all-out ‘cookie jar raiding’.
Further evidence of the family feast is now on the ground in Abaco. It has just been brought to the PLP’s attention, which Bahamas Hot Mix has installed a new multi-million dollar Asphalt Plant in Abaco, in preparation for the paving contracts at the Marsh Harbour International Airport and road paving works throughout Abaco Island.
The Progressive Liberal Party cries shame on the shameless misuse of Bahamian ‘tax payers’ monies and the deafening silence of any ‘right thinking’ Cabinet Ministers around the Prime Minister’s table. We would wish to remind those honest Ministers that ‘evil flourishes when good people do nothing’.
The decisive point being made here is that this most recent brazen awarding of the Saunders Beach restoration contract to the Mosko company, makes it abundantly clear for all to see exactly whose hands are in the ‘cookie jar’.
The Progressive Liberal Party recommits itself to openness and transparency in awarding contracts; and will ensure that every qualified local Bahamian contractor will be allowed to bid on all government contracts.
The PLP will always place the interest of Bahamians first.
