Ex-Premier welcomes call for inquiry into Govt tendering
Former Premier Ewart Brown has endorsed a call by former Royal Gazette Editor Bill Zuill for an independent, public inquiry into “tendering and contracts”.In a press release, Dr Brown said that he supported Mr Zuill’s call — made in an editorial on Thursday — because an independent inquiry would clear his name and that of the Progressive Labour Party while in Government.But the former Premier said the review should go back 28 years so that the performance of the UBP’s last 14 years in Government could be examined as well.“The call by the daily newspaper for an independent inquiry into ‘the whole area of tendering and contracts’ comes at a perfect time,” said Dr Brown in his statement.“I wholeheartedly support this idea and personally welcome it for a number of reasons.“First, it would provide a golden opportunity for the new OBA Government to demonstrate to all of Bermuda that it is fair and even-handed.“It would also be an opportunity for all of Bermuda to learn that the PLP was a responsible, caring government that did not squander away or steal hundreds of millions of dollars as it was often portrayed to have done.“Second, it would give persons (including myself) an opportunity to clear our names and reveal that much of what has been spoken and written, especially by biased media and bloggers, cannot and will not be proven by a truly independent panel.“The panel should consist of one person designated by the Government, one by the Opposition and a Chairman (an independent overseas judge) agreed to by both parties.“They should be given the staff (including unaligned accountants) and funding to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible.“Finally, and most importantly, to avoid the appearance of a witch hunt aimed at the PLP, the panel should be asked to review tendering and contracts as far back as 1984.“That would allow them to examine 14 years of UBP governance and 14 years of PLP governance.“As for my cooperation, I am a phone call or e-mail away.”Mr Zuill, who ended a 14 year stint as Editor of The Royal Gazette on Friday, said that the PLP lost the general election “because of its mishandling of the economy and the public finances and it failed to produce a compelling argument that it was the party to engineer an economic turnaround”.He added that the PLP “never shook off the persistent allegations that it mishandled public money and worse” and said that the public finances are probably in worse shape than the former Government admitted.“The OBA should consider the pros and cons of holding a public inquiry into the whole area of tendering and contracts,” Mr Zuill said in his editorial.“Many allegations have been made about the management of public money and an independent review would be helpful for at least three reasons:n Where there has been mismanagement of public funds, those responsible should be held accountable, not simply because abuse of the taxpayers’ money is never acceptable, but as a warning to anyone in the future who may be tempted to abuse the public trust;n Where there are systemic problems with management of public funds, these can be identified and fixed; andn Where projects have in fact been handled well and honestly, those who may have been unfairly accused or put under suspicion will be freed from the taint of guilt by association.”Government was contacted for comment but did not respond by presstime last night.