Brac paving left NRA short
(CNS): The former NRA boss has revealed that the paving project on Cayman Brac left the NRA short of men and equipment, forcing the government-owned road company to use the islands’ two private contractors for all of its repair work on Grand Cayman. During his appearance before the Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, Brian Tomlinson said that once he was instructed by the ministry to send men and equipment to the Sister Islands hehad to tender all of the NRA’s other work, rather than just buying asphalt as was the norm. He also told the committee that at least $1 million of the $3.5 milllion for the Brac work was taken from money appropriated by parliament for work on Grand Cayman.
Tomlinson, who was recently fired from his job after he had seized an illegally imported shipment of dynamite and made a report to the police, was the last witness to appear before the committee on the auditor general’s special report regarding the project in which government spent some $500,000 paving private driveways and parking lots as well as the public roads.
He said there was a lack of quality control on the project and pointed to equipment bought and shipped to the Brac,which he said to this day remains in shipping cases at the dock. He explained that the NRA had a very minor role in the paving and had merely been required to supply labour and equipment.
This meant he had to rely on private contractors, such as Island Paving or ARCP, to carry out the maintenance and repairs on Grand Cayman for the duration of the Brac project.
In his report Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick had revealed that the job of managing the Brac project was given to Colford Scott, an issue that had given the auditor concern because Scott is also the NRA’s board chairman, presenting a clear conflict of interest.
Answering PAC’s questions, Tomlinson further revealed that during his tenure the policy at the NRA was that public cash was used only for public roads. However, he stated that in the past there had been a problem where private road owners failed to keep up the maintenance on roads that were used by the public and the NRA had been drawn into paying for those repairs.
Nevertheless, Tomlinson said, while he was director the policy was not to use public cash for private roads. He pointed to only one exception, which was approved by the board following a request from the ministry, to pave a private road in Bodden Town.
This contrasted with comments made by Alan Jones, the current chief officer in the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands & Agriculture (DAWLA), which is responsible for roads. Jones claimed that because there was precedent for paving private roads with public money, it was not an issue that the practice had happened on the Brac.
The three government backbench members, Ellio Solomon, Dwayne Seymour and Cline Glidden, all seized on this and criticised the auditor general for not mentioning this historical tradition in his report. Seymour said he couldn’t believe there was such a fuss about the “beautification of the Brac”, where roads had not been paved for 25 years.
However, Swarbrick pointed out to the members that he does not do “audit history” and that the evidence before him related to the circumstances in the Brac and not past events.
There was nothing more than anecdotal comment regarding private roads being maintained by the government in the past, which he pointed out was still a misuse of public funds. Swarbrick said there is nothing in the law which authorises private roads to be paved using public money.
For Seymour’s benefit, Swarbrick pointed out that the report did not criticise the paving of the public roads but was concerned with tax-payers money being used for the benefit of commercial enterprises without the ministry seeking any payment or without any criteria or clear justification for spending the people’s money this way.
Jones confirmed that during the Brac project, in addition to the public roads, parking lots and private driveways had been paved and no payments had been requested. It was revealed that the parking lot at the Brac Power and Light Company, one of many profit making entities to benefit from the paving, was paved because it was used by the public when they went to pay their bills.
He also revealed that it was the ministry that had made the decisions on which lots would be paved and people had been invited to apply to it for the free paving. Jones also told the committee that some decisions were made on the ground. He said that when material was left over, the workers would use it on private lots, driveways and roads rather than allowing it to go to waste. He also pointed to the need to level off the road and the parking lots for environmental and safety concerns.
CNS Note: No part of the parking lots or driveways for the Cayman Brac Power & Light Co, either at their Stake Bay office or the powerplant on the Bluff were paved by government. CNS apologises for any confusion.
Category: Politics
With all the paving SCOTTS SWAMP still has not been fix . the public road that
goes to the west end grave yard. (CNS could post a picture)
What exactly has the Auditor general achieved by reporting this? What is the point of him doing all this work, identifying a clear breach of law and arousing suspicions of corrupt practices , spending hours questioning in finance committee, if NOBODY is disciplined!
Arrest them. Charge them. Fire them. Its time Cayman to join the real world.
While everyone is concerned with Cayman Brac paving the deputy premier continues to enjoy her world travels. Ain't life grand.
So what I read into this is that the Chief Officer and the MLA's ALL said it is okay to use public funds and expenditures to pay for nepotism and favoritism!!! Really?
Kinda like when the Public works uses their heavy equipment to clear the beaches (for those in office and senior positions) for Easter Sunday, and of course those older, retired, double dipping civil servants in various Government departments still on the Government payroll making a large salary and doing NOTHING!
Seriously, there needs a big clean up, half of the Directors and Assistant Directors need to go. Most, if not all, Government departments need breaths of fresh air and not people clinging to 'old ways' because 'that's how it has always been done".
Same for the MLA's. Come on 2013!
Instead of buying an asphalt plant, government could have leased one and returned it at the end of the project. Now they are stuck with a depreciating asset, that will cost money to maintain.
With regards NRA. Paving works should be outsourced to the private sector, you will undoubtedly get better quality and value for money.
Governments do not create wealth, they consume it. Outsourcing ensures greater efficiencies and less wasteage….
"Paving works should be outsourced to the private sector, you will undoubtedly get better quality and value for money" – Not when it comes to the two companies in Cayman, quite the opposite, and I know, I've dealt with them. They actually threaten your development if you mention bringing in your own materials and stuff.
I just completed my new house valued at $755,000.00 and was wondering which Government Department I need to go apply to have the driveway paved as I am out of money due to all the new taxes, gasoline, duty increase, vehicle registration, work permit fees, company fees, etc., etc., and would also like the government to purchase my house (for $755,000.00) and allow me to live in it until I die. Can someone please advise me where I can collect the check or do I need to move the property to Cayman Brac, where this appears to be the norm.
By the way CNS can you do an article regarding how much revenue was collected and spent by Government annually in Cayman Brac from year 2000 to 2012. This information would make very interesting reading for us here in the Cayman Islands. Thank you very much and I look forward to reading about this in the coming week.
So now we see why it was AARC’s equipment that was doing Lyndhurst Ave. about 18 months ago and not NRA equipment.
What we haven’t heard was why Lyndhurst Ave., a dead-end residential road to a few houses, was paved while nothing has been done to say Bobby Thompson Road which was started a few years ago and thousands of motorists use every day.
Maybe if the PAC had required the former Chief Officer Kearney Gomez to attend it could have enquired as to whether this work had anything to do with the fact that he completed a new house at the end of that street about the same time. And whether getting the road to his house done had anything to do with his Ministry going along with Juju’s illegal scheme of using moneys appropriated for roadwork Grand Cayman to do parking lots in Cayman Brac.
I also notice that the Chairman of the NRA and the Ministry’s ‘consultant/project manager’ on the Cayman Brac project wasn’t summoned either to explain the unique skill he has to wear multiple hats at the same time. That was certainly worth finding out I would have thought.
Could it be that the reason these ‘virtuous’ men weren’t summoned was because PAC members are mindful that they remain in charge of our election system which is now gearing up for the May 2013 elections XXXX?
Mr. Jones should be questioned on whether he has even been to the Brac other than to appear at agriculture day? He has no idea of the process that took place and should really be prepared when he sits in front of PAC. XXXX
CNS: Maybe you can look in to this discrepancy about CYB P&L further. Is Jones saying that there is a line item indicating that CYBP&L was paved? If so, where did that asphalt and consequently money really go? I'm curious as to why he would say that.
As a business owner, when we first became aware that NRA was working in the Brac, we inquired about the cost of getting some of our properties done. We were told that this was government and it wouldn't be possible as no provision was made from the Ministry on any ground that funds could be collected and go back into central Government.
We were prepared to pay for any paving done on our private properties. How can we pay if they don't need money.
Who owns ARCP that was fortunately called upon to do work in Cayman due to absence of equipment doing freebies on the Brac…?
Minister Mark Scotland…oops sorry the eternally honourable one
But, was it the Miinister or the Ministry's Chief Officer who did/could send ALL of this new NRA eqpt to the Brac.. to free up the Grand cayman contracts?
What I find very convenient is the unfortunate (sarcasm) use of a fellow minister's company to conduct paving in Grand Cayman while this nonsense was taking place in the Brac. Interesting….
This is all becoming one big joke now.
And an expensive joke at that.
meanwhile…they came to my road, ripped it up for "ChipSpray", killed 3 trees and now I need a ladder to get out of my driveway that they cracked up! Thanks NRA!!!!! Just got the quote to repair what they destroyed…$7,500…Welcome to Cayman!
Unlucky man – that stuff should be called ' Sh*t and Pray'.
Swear it's only laid down to keep the NRA in work to replace it after every heavy rain storm !
Yup same problem in the estate where I live too. They ruined the roads there ripping them up and replacing them with chipspray, when all we really needed was proper drainage to stop the flooding. The state of the roads now is worse than it was before.
Well, the government should now understand the old maxim – ” What goes around, comes around “. Good to see Brian have the opportunity to shed some real light on this issue. As for YELLIO and the other two of the UDP “Three Blind Mice” on the PAC team – did they really think that they were going to catch out the Auditor General by referring to past events as justifying Ju Ju’s actions – and as MLA’s, effectively condoning what previously had been equally improper. Nice to see Swarbrick slap them down, even if he probably did have to resort to words of one syllable – for the benefit of Seymour
Tomlinson deserves a public appology from the premier as well as being offered his job back.
…Yeah I know I live in a dream land.
Mr. Glidden is an intelligent man with a law degree. He must not make politics make him sound foolish. He knows that just because I have been breaking the law for years, it is still wrong. stop defending law breakers, misuse of our money when children are starving. Thank you Mr Auditor. Sorry about the firing of the former chief, makes everyone else shake in their boots, but hope they will all stand up for right.
And he got that degree while working for us!!!
O Boy, so much for representation
I totally agree with your comments re Brian and he should be fully compensated for his time since losing his job.This was nothing less than vindictiveness on the part of our present government and has been going on for a long time with past govs as well.
Wonder if they are going to mention that the road in Bodden Twon that was paved, is the same road that the current madam speaker lives on?
Check it out CSN.. facts are facts.. everyone scratching everyones back nowadays.
That would be the Speaker that has been made a series of bizarre pro UDP rulings?
Or that Mac's neighbourhood gets chip and spray but Mac's street gets ashphalt.
We also paid for the water truck to spray twice a day on that same chip and spray road into Mac's neighbourhood. Can't have Mac getting dusty!
12:34, clearly you have not been on that road. It has NOT ever, repeat NOT, been paved. It has been spray/chipped by successive governments. The road has a long history of contention and quarrelling, XXXXX But it has not been paved so stop lying.
I live on the road. It is interesting that the comment that claims the road was paved gets masses of thumbs up while the comment fom someone (not me) saying (correctly) that it has never been paved is largely ignored except for a small majority of people who give it a thumbs down. It suggests to me that the truth (the road has never been paved) is unimportant when compared to making a negative anti-government comment by involving the Speaker in it. Very sad.
Asphalt or chip and spray, the point is, which you clearly do not get nor can comprehend, is considered paving by any standards. Hence the use of public funds for favors. I wish some people would try to see and understand the bigger picture instead of responding with foolish rebuttals
Re-election at ANY cost!!!!! It's the name of the game.
Here is an interesting test someone in authority should make…..
Do an audit of her campaign to find out who her donors were that supported her Campaign or the UDP Campaign and see if any of those people owns businesses that received paving.
Just a thought.
As they have called the "former" MD or NRA, why dont they call the "former" Chief Officer in the Ministry, as he was in charge when the decisions were made re the Brac private lot paving?
Why is Jones just going along with the Minister's story? He was not even in the Ministry, let alone Chief Officer, at the time the decisons were made to pave private lots in the Brac. He should be saying something to the effect that he was not in the decision-making at the time, and suggest the PAC should call the former Chief Officer, Mr. Kearney Gomez, to answer questions about the decisions while he was the Chief Officer responsible at the time.
Also, what is the Minister's legal team saying about the paving? What does the Attorney General's office say about the Auditor's claim that the paving may be illegal?
If this is not illegal, then any part of Govt money can then be used for private purposes at any time, and the Law will be irrelevant. That means Govt money can by spent on fixing up private homes, private boats, private lands, private cars, and it does not matter whether the private individuals are super rich or not.
Well, reading his response to the AG concerns, seemed like he was very confident in what he knew; or thought he knew.
Never the less, you do have a point, MR Cowboy Gomez should have benn there in his Stetsons, to state his "role" in this fiasco.
But, as we know all too well….nothing is going to come out of this. No more than the money that was spent from the bank account.
By the politicians and Mr. Jones' logic, there is nothing in the NRA Law or the Roads Law preventing spending public funds on private matters and items (e.g. buying your girlfriend a new car with Govt funds from your department), therefore go right ahead.
Dart Park coming soon in Watering place! you better save some asphalt for that JUJU LMAO!
BRACA
"He also revealed that it was the ministry that had made the decisions on which lots would be paved and people had been invited to apply to it for the free paving." Gee, I wonder who's applications were rejected? Looks like voter pay-back.
Make em' pay…………………………
Just send a surveyer to da Brac and look at all the asphalt paved parking lots
and private driveways that have been paved that were not on the original work order
and send them a bill. How could these people have thought that it was alright to have the
PUBLIC WORKS pave their PRIVATE PROPERTY with government funds.
The churches should pray for forgiveness. XXXX
She had to pave all commercial parking lots because she paved her church’s parking lot and the parking lot at the Deputy District Commissioner’s retail shop. It snowballed from there. The Auditor’s report for the Hurricane Paloma funds should haave some interesting findings, too.
Amen
Good comment. Have you seen the house in the back of the Watering Place Park? Thats what you call vindictiveness. Every house in Watering Place got attention except that one . Would be very interesting to have the Paloma fund checked out. Seems like the poor old man got up on somebodys platform and talked about the Park being put in front of his house that was a nuisance to him in his old age, also the amount of money that changed hands for this property which was his family's estate, and thats what he got for opening his mouth. You want to tell me that one can be so petty and spiteful with other peoples money? Some of the Politicians really need to be born again. This was a man that worshipped the Premier, so we know that he had nothing to do with that decision making. As Politicians you need to have broad shoulders, and kill the folks that critize with kindness, so as this same old man shoul have been treated, after all he was only speaking the truth, and afterwards he still went and voted one vote. He was only perhaps doing what Ju Ju good book tells her. If you are slapped on the cheek then turn the other cheek.
I don't seee anything wrong with the government helping the churches getting their parking lots paved as they are non-profit and they are supposed to be there for the community. However other buinesses that are there to make money and would normally pay to upgrade or upkeep or maintain or however you want to word it would normally have to pay for something liek that so they should have had to pay for at least the materials used to have their lots done.
Whether the Minister was trying to collect brownie points or she was really trying to do a good thing for her community either way at the end of the day, Cayman Brac really did needed what was done, it just needed to be managed better.
Buy the minister get the congregation free. Great vote buying package.
Church and Politics should never mix, end of story. Have you ever heard of something called world history before? Look it up and you will see a direct correlation between the two leading to another phenomenon called war when they hold hands.
You think this is bad, just wait until the truth comes out on those special folks in Cayman Brac that are receiving CI$10,000 to have their homes repaired. Homes that don't even exist LOL, rooms being added on to brand new homes, cars being purchased with the funds, trips being made to the US to buy furniture, gosh its OUTRAGIOUS!!! I have been told that the money also came from Darling Dart. I really wonder how these people sleep at night!
Hoping someone will start researching/FOI(ing) on this soon. CNS Help!!!!!
Darling Dart dont realize that all the parks that Cayman Brac can hold wont help darling juju this time. Crying time again.
"Jones confirmed that during the Brac project, in addition to the public roads, parking lots and private driveways had been paved and no payments had been requested. It was revealed that the parking lot at the Brac Power and Light Company, one of many profit making entities to benefit from the paving, was paved because it was used by the public when they went to pay their bills"
This is untrue the Cayman Brac Power & Light office yard has been cemented for many years and HAS NOT been paved. XXXXX
CNS: See note at the end of the article. No property owned by CBP&L was paved by government.
Corruption is the elephant in the room. In Cayman, the elephant is quite old and is hopefully on its last legs.
Unfortunately, poor Mr. Tomlinson just got squished underfoot.
I hope that Mr. Swarbrick can load the gun that shoots the smelly beastie.
The weak excuses for corruption cannot continue in the light of the government's financial problems.
I have heard of banana republics but Cayman is now a cassava republic with these kind of illegal and wasteful activities conducted by government officials! I think the Attorney General should have been called to testify and specifically advise the PAC on how these criminal activities will be prosecuted!!!
You are being very funny!
Let me guess how this will be prosecuted..
Guessing..
Guessing..
Guessing…
ok thats the end of the guessing.
And the end of the prosecution…
With a Cayman jury no politician would ever be convicted regardless of the evidence.
If our gowerment had its way we'd be a rice republic.
Well you should thank your auditor for reporting this, and at the same time recognise that Glidden and others simply dont understand the divide between proper and improper use of public money. They were "quick to seize on" something they thought was justification when it was simply past misuse. If I punch you in the nose and you dont call the police, does that mean it was ok then and ok in the future?
As story after story come up, and when some past misdeeds are remembered it is this same issue that bothers me most, the lack of any kind of a distinction in the politicians minds about proper use of your money. The sad thing is that many voters cant distinguish the difference, I can recall many conversations in which people were surprised that I found it wrong that politicians personally benefitted from their position, "thats why they are MLA's isnt it?
Yes folks, thank this auditor, and the last one, lets just hope that they dont manage to get rid of him like they did the last time, presumably so they could find a yes man!
Does that mean its ok to punch Elio on the nose? Its apparently been done before and without penalty. Sure it would be enormously popular too!
Well, there is nothing in the NRA or the Roads Law preventing you from punching him in the nose, ergo – it would be legal.
It's not a lie. More of a scheme.
Hang 'em high!
The Brac Power and Light parking lot was done using concrete for top layer since 2001. Hence wasn't done with any asphalt.
Umph..