March 25, 2019

Please do, Senator Kempe.
Sen. Nicholas K empe: In Senator Campbell’s stat ement, he mentioned that the decrease of some
$500,000 in this year’s estimate for the professional
services fund item related to the expiration of a pr ofessional service contract relating to government r eform. My question w as, what other professional services are included in that $1.2 million budgeted for
next year, especially what else has been included on top of the $774,000 from the 2017/18 actuals. It is an
almost 100 per cent increase still on the actuals from
two years ago. What is justifying that spend?

Thank you, Senator Kempe.
Senator Campbell.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman, under that is
an amount for DC lobbyists for $250,000; CARICOM


Bermuda Senate Annual Fees $187[,000]; the PSNT for $180[,000] ;
there is Mi nistry without Portfolio consultant of
$130,000; there is the cost of the Brussel’s repr esentative, $177,000; under FinTech there is $60,000
for contractors educational services; there is the con-tract for Cabinet Office, miscellaneous repair and
maintenanc e for $54[,000]; the London o ffice has
$27,000 for contracts, consultants, contractors, mi scellaneous office repairs, the rents, et cetera, for $27,000; Government Reform, there is $27,000; Pr otocol contractors, for receptions and events, there is
$25,000, Age Concern, there is $12[,000]; and there
are a number of small contracts that fall under the Po licy and Strategy of the BD U, et cetera, a total of
$68,000.

Just for purposes of the listening pu blic, we are again working through answers to a variety
of questions on the debate this morning dealing with
the Cabinet Office. So there will be a pause from time
to time while Senator Campbell consults with the
technical staff from the department to obtain answers
to the variety of questions. So if you hear periods of
silence, it is because answers to various questions
are being sought. So thank you for your attention.

[Pause]

Senator Campbell, would you li ke to
continue?
Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman, I do have a
couple more responses. One is around the question
on the Safety and Health audits, as to why roughly the
same amount was budgeted when there were 35 ver-sus 5 planned audits. Initially there were only five audits planned, but with the focus being on getting the audits done at the schools [first], the shift took place.
But there was no adjustment in the budget.

Thank you, Senator.
Senator Kempe, you have a follow -up question to that?

Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Yes, thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
So, the answer that the audits took place is
great, but did they take place for the same . . . did 35
audits take place for $119,000? And, if they did, why
are we only getting five audits for $115,000 in spend
next year? We should either see the same audits or
less spend.

Senator Campbell.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Yes, Mr. Chairman.
In regard to that, the department targeted five
audits but the department is at the . . . they do have
the direction of the Government, and if the Gover nment wishes to increase the number of audits there is
a provision in there already for that. The intent is to
establish a rolling process for doing the audits wher eby the assets can be maintained going forward . . . or
the assets of the Government can be maintained go-ing forward in this regard.

Thank you.
Senator Kempe, do you have a further question?

Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Yes, Mr. Chairman, that a nswer still does not answer the question.
If 35 audits were achieved or were performed
with $119,000 of spend, why are we spending
$115,000 next year and only getting five audits?

Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman—
Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Who is directed to do it is i rrelevant —

Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Senator Kempe.

Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Yes, that answer, Mr. Chai rman, raises a further question. That $119,000, is it an
outsourced, per audit expense line, i.e., if they only do
five audits we are only going to spend $5,000, and if
we do 35 we will spend $119,000? Or is this a staff member who is hired, and whether they do five or 35
the expenditure is going to be the exact same?

Thank you, Senator Simmons.
Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman, I am not able
to get that information at this time, but I will endeavour
to provide it for Senator Simmons in the future. The Chairman: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Senator Kempe.

Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Yes, Mr. Chairman, thank
you.
I too had asked about a status update on the
millions of dollars in MOUs that the FinTech unit is
responsible for managing. And I have not heard an
answer.
I also have a follow -up question (sorry to ci rcle back, but the Senator was answering other ques-tions), with the Brussels office br eakdown, there was
some $70,000 listed broadly as accommodation. Is
there any breakdown of that amongst the various employees and interns? Or is that all for the contract
consultant? How is that $70,000 in accommodation
broken down?
We heard that $177[,00 0] was for the consul tant and $20,000 was for interns. But I am not sure if
part of the accommodation spend also went towards
the intern spend.

Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Senator Kempe.
Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Yes, I also asked questions
about the Government Reform Initiative on page B -46,
trying to understand what, if any, savings in dollars will
be achieved from these initiatives, or expected to be
achieved from the initiatives. I also asked a similar
question about Head 61 (I want to say), the Organis ation Employee Development. And I also asked a ques-tion about Head 61, as to why that seemed–– it
sounded like its function is simply to replace the D epartment of HR ––why these two lines were not just
added to the Department of HR instead of creating another director post, and what savings are expected
to be seen from doing it this way, as opposed throu gh
HR.

Thank you.
Senator Kempe, you had one further question?



Bermuda Senate Sen. Nicholas Kempe: More of a curiosity thing.
There was some $180,000, I believe, mentioned twice
about PSNT, but the full meaning of that acronym I do
not believe was desc ribed. I just want to know what
PSNT meant.

Sen. Vance Campbell: That is the Public Service
Negotiating Team’s budget.

We move now to the next Ministry up
for debate, which is the Ministry of Public Works. And
we have allocated three hours for this debate. We will
be looking at Heads 36, 53, 68, 81 and 82. And Sen ator Campbell will be up again for this debate. And we
will commence with Head 36, on page B -214.
I am just going to give Senator Campbell a
few m oments to collect himself after the last set of
debates before we move on to the Ministry of Public Works.

MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS

Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman, I move that the
Committee do now take under consideration Head 36,
Ministry of Public W orks, Headquarters; Head 52,
Bermuda Housing Corporation; Head 68, Parks; Head
81, Public Lands and Buildings; and Head 82, Works
and Engineering.

Please continue.

HEAD 36 —MINISTRY HEADQUARTERS

Sen. Vance Camp bell: Mr. Chairman, Head 36, Mi nistry of Public Works Headquarters, can be found on
pages B-213 through B -219. Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Public Works is
responsible for maintaining Bermuda’s critical assets and infrastructure. In fact, Public Works i s the lead
agent in delivering the infrastructure requirements up-on which so many of the services provided to this I sland depend on.
Some of the assets and infrastructure that the
Ministry is responsible for building and maintaining include:
• [There are] 617 roads, amounting to 225 kil ometres of road sur face;
• [There are] 751 buildings maintained by Public Lands and Buildings with an insured value of over $1.5 billion;
• [There are] 85 public docks and purpose- built
berths servicing cruise ships, cargo ships and
hundreds of privat e vessels and yachts each
year;
• [There are] 5 reservoirs with a capacity of 2.5
million gallons of Bermuda’s precious and
very lim ited fresh water resource;
• [There are] 75 amenity parks, beaches and
school grounds protected under the Bermuda
National Parks Act 1986; and
• Ocean V iew and Port Royal golf courses
(That responsibility starting in 2018/19.).
Mr. Chairman, it cannot be overstated how
critical this vast and diverse ministry is to Bermuda,
and why it is so important that every possible opportunity must be grasped to maximise the economic
benefits that the capital expenditures of this Ministry
provide. This includes establishing private sector par tnerships to ensure that the Government’s assets and
infrastructure are maintained w hilst simultaneously
generating economic opportunities within the con-struction sector of our Island community.
Therefore, the maintenance and enhanc ement of our infrastructure and facilities must remain a priority because infrastructure development is a v ital
component in encouraging a country’s economic
growth. For example, infrastructure development will
help provide the adequate capacity for the future growth Bermuda so desperately needs. It will help
enhance the visitor experience when they come to
Bermuda and, more importantly, it will help provide a
key source of job creation and economic empowerment going forward.
Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation to the
Ministry for 2019/20 is found on page B -213 and the
allocated amount is $73,447,000 and this represents a
decrease of $521,000, or 0.70 per cent decrease from
the original 2018/19 budget.
Mr. Chairman, the anticipated revenue for the
Ministry is $16,766,000, a decrease of $3,502,000, or 17.3 per cent when compared to the 2018/19 revenue
budget.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry’s total capital
budget for 2019/20 is $35,782,000. This includes the Capital Development budget of $32,588,000, found on
398 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate pages C -5 to C -6, and Capital Acquisitions budget of
$3,194,000, and that can be found on B -212 to B -213.
The Ministry Headquarters’ budget of
$7,942,000 versus $9,013,000, a reduction of
$1,071,000 reflects an adjustment in the WEDCO grants and a reduction in office relocations in order to
meet Finance Ministry’s imposed cash spending li mits.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry’s established
number of employees, which is referred to as full -time
equivalents, for the fiscal year 2019/20 is 711, an i ncrease of 4 when compared to the established num-ber for the current fiscal year as seen on page B -213.
Of note though, on t hat page is the actual number of
staff, presently of 600.
Mr. Chairman, the overarching objective of the
Ministry Headquarters, Finance and Administration,
Head 36 is to provide centralised support to the d epartments within the Ministry which include: Pub lic
Lands and Buildings; Works and Engineering; Land
Valuation; Parks; and Land Title Registration, to en-sure delivery of their varied services and operating
programmes.
The services provided by the Ministry of Public Works Headquarters are organised into the follo wing six programmes, which are found on page B -215:
• Head Office Administration —3601;
• Accounts —3610;
• Purchasing— 3611;
• Telecommunications —3612;
• Human Resources —3613;
• Architect Design—3614.
Mr. Chairman, Head Office Administration,
programme 3601, is comprised of Headquarters A dministration, including Safety and Health, and Central
Filing. Headquarters Administration, under the direction of the Permanent Secretary, provides oversight
and management support to the entire Ministry of
Public Works. It also ensures that the Minister’s policy
objectives are met and, specifically, is responsible for
the implementation of the Ministry’s Throne Speech
initiatives, yearly business plan, management of saf ety and health matters, compliance, and numerous special administrative projects.
Mr. Chairman, during 2018/19, the Safety and
Health Office provided safety and health training to staff by offering a total of 315 hours of safety training,
which was attended by 311 employees. The Ministry
also conducted documented risk assessments to as-certain the risk that Ministry employees and the public
are exposed to as a result of our activities. The trai ning and assessments will continue into 2019/20 so as
to be in compliance with the requirements of the O ccupational S afety Act 1982, and the Occupational and
Safety and Health Regulations 2009.
Mr. Chairman, the second area of support under the Head Office Administration is Central Filing,
which provides records management for all human
resource records, Cabinet document s, capital projects and contracts, and maintains records for the Ministry’s
legislative functions.
The operational budget for the Head Office
Administration, programme 3601, is $2.19 million for
fiscal year 2019/20, a decrease of $84,000 over the current y ear. This decrease is attributed to a reduction
in consultant fees.
Mr. Chairman, the Accounts programme,
3610, provides accounts payable, accounts receiv able, payroll, capital asset recording, non- financial and
financial reporting functions for the operat ing depar tments within the Ministry.
This section also prepares and distributes
weekly payroll, vendor cheques and invoices for ser-vices provided by the Ministry’s operational areas, as
well as collection and recording of online bank pa yments, credit card, cash and cheque receipts.
Through their use of the centralised accounting sy stem this section manages the yearly budget prepar ation and provides monthly management reports, a
process that enables the effective and efficient monitoring and control of the Ministry’s current account
budget along with the Ministry’s capital development
and capital acquisitions budgets.
Mr. Chairman, the Accounts section’s focus
for the fiscal year 2019/20 will continue to be on i mproving the project and work order reporting system,
improving the debt collection for the Ministry, and working with the Accountant General on improving
processes involving the E1 system. This includes pa yroll process, debt collection, vendor payments, and
general reporting.
Mr. Chairman, the operational budget for the
Accounts programme 3610 is an amount of $1,164,000 for fiscal 2019/20; an increase of
$216,000 from the revised fiscal year 2018/19 attributed to incoming staff transfers, an additional post, and two trainee positions.
Mr. Chairman, the Purchasing programme
3611 provides a centralised procurement, inventory management, warehousing, disposal and tendering
function to the other departments and programmes
within the Ministry, and to other external departments
from time to time. The assis tant purchasing and supply officer, quarry position, remained vacant in
2018/19 due to an unsuccessful hiring campaign. It is
anticipated to be filled in mid- 2019. This position is
considered critical to the Purchasing programme and
has been vacant for a c onsiderable period of time and
has proved a challenge to fill. Therefore, a trainee po-sition will be created for succession planning purpos-es.
Mr. Chairman, the Purchasing section’s focus
for the fiscal year 2019/20 will be on creating supply chain- relate d policies, procedures, and end- user i nstructions for the Ministry, further refining and centra lising their tendering function, establishing supply con-tracts through competitive bidding, and working with
the Accountant General to maximise use of sectionBermuda Senate specific functions and capabilities of the E1 system,
with a specific focus on inventory control, contract
pricing, and key performance indicator reporting.
Mr. Chairman, the Purchasing programme
3611 operational budget is $1,369,000 for 2019/20, an increas e of $306,000 and accounts for two staff transfers and salary adjustments.
Mr. Chairman, the Telecommunications pr ogramme 3612 provides a suite of services such as
replacement of telephones and related equipment and
management of mobile service contracts for the Mini stry. The programme also provides advice to depar tment heads regarding call flows, resulting in greater
efficiencies, and managing the implementation of new
technologies to maximise cost savings.
Mr. Chairman, the Government owns and operates a portfolio of seven telecommunication tower
sites across the Island. And the towers are located at
Somerset Police Station, Alton Hill, Warwick Camp,
Com Ops, Prospect, the Quarry, and at Ft. George.
Historically the telecommunication tower facil ities hav e been managed by the Bermuda Police Service [BPS] as they were primarily installed to support
their operational telecommunication requirements. In
support of this use, the Department of Public Lands
and Buildings assisted the BPS in managing the letting i nquiries from third party telecom operators seeking to locate their own telecommunication equipment
on the Government’s tower portfolio. The department
of Public Lands and Buildings also managed any
lease arrangements for third- party operators who
have approached the Government to use their buil dings or land for their telecommunication installations.
In April 2017, the Ministry took over respons ibility of the towers and commissioned structural surveys for each tower to establish their current condition and also conducted surveys of each equipment cabin,
air conditioning and generator sets.
Mr. Chairman, the structural surveys highlighted a lack of regular maintenance of the telecom
towers, which has resulted in every tower displaying
various stages of corrosion. The recommendation of
the survey was the adoption of an aggressive maint enance programme with a focus on rust identification
and remediation. In some instances the safety equi pment for climbing the towers is in such poor condition
that it poses a ris k to life for anyone who may climb
the tower. Additional issues identified included i mproper air conditioning design in maintenance and equipment rooms, lack of a backup generator at the
Quarry site, and a lack of regular maintenance of the
generators at t he other sites. Some sites had substantial foliage overgrowth and maintenance is required to
improve and maintain access and safety.
As these sites and infrastructure are critical to
operations and are of national importance, we have
implemented a program me and continue to carry out
remediation works during this budget year for the i ssues identified. We will continue with proper planned maintenance schedules and make necessary adjus tments to minimise the risk of failure in the future.
Mr. Chairman, the Telecommunications pr ogramme 3612 has been allocated an operational budget of $838,000 for fiscal year 2019/20, a d ecrease of $19,000 as a result of the reduction in local
calls.
Mr. Chairman, the Human Resources pr ogramme 3613 provides recruitment, employee relations and training, and development services to the
various departments and staff within the Ministry. The role of the Human Resources team is to liaise and
partner with the Department of Human Resources to
provide Human Resources advice and guidance, as
well as provide administrative support throughout the
Ministry. Mr. Chairman, in 2019/20 the Human R esources section will continue to focus on the Ministry’s
Basic Employee, Foreman and Superintendent Trai ning programme (known as BeFAST), succession
planning for difficult to fill jobs and retirements, and
the management of the trainee and apprentice pr ogrammes.
Mr. Chairman, the BeFAST programme is
now in its sixth year and has proven to be successful. The programme’s objectives are to advance training,
create career opportunities, and build new working
relationships with peers and staff, ultimately creating a
team that speaks the same language, resulting in providing better service to our internal and external
customers. The “Effective Team Member” and “Leading Effective Teams” are the two core courses under
BeFAST, and they are delivered by the Bermuda Col-lege’s Professional Adult Career Education Depar tment (otherwise known as PACE). Last year the Mi nistry offered the Certificate in Leadership and Ma nagement Course, which is a comprehensive course
designed to give practicing first -line managers a solid
foundation in their formal development as a manager. This year the Ministry will offer “Leading Effective Teams.”
Mr. Chairman, other training will cont inue to
be offered internally including computer training on the Microsoft Office suite of programmes, and the Ministry
will continue to partner with the Bermuda Industrial
Union to coordinate the workshop on understanding the collective bargaining agreement. The Ministry’s
Safety and Health Officer will also coordinate courses
on safety and health in the workplace, emphasising
hazard identification and control. In addition, ongoing
emergency response training, such as fire marshal,
CPR, and first -aid training will continue in 2019/20.
Mr. Chairman, it is a fact that our workforce is
ageing. Therefore, our Ministry will focus heavily on
succession planning to ensure we have sufficient employees trained and prepared to fill core and difficult to
fill critical positions in the future. The Quarry Vehicle
Maintenance and Operations and Highways sections
continue to be the main areas of focus. The Ministry of
Public Works also has in place a training programme
400 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate in which three trainees are currently enrolled. This
programme focuses on training Bermudians for pr ofessional positions that are difficult to fill.
Mr. Ricardo Graham -Ward, a former bursary
student, is in training as a civil engineer and has
joined as a graduate member of the Institute of Civil
Engineers and the Institute of Structural Engineers in
the UK. He is currently assigned to the Structures section and is also on a secondment programme with
Ramboll, an engineering company in the UK that has
been contracted by the Ministry for the design and engineerin g work for the new Swing and Longbird
bridges.
Mr. Jamar Dill is in training as a civil engineer
as well and has joined as a graduate member the I nstitute of Civil Engineers and the Institute of Structural
Engineers in the UK. He is currently assigned to the
Electrical section and is currently on a secondment
programme with Aecon.
Mr. Zeeko Johnstone is in training as a civil
engineer and has joined as a graduate member the
Institute of Civil Engineers and the Institute of Structural Engineers in the UK. H e is currently assigned to
the Electrical section and is currently on secondment
programme with Aecon.
Mr. Chairman, in addition, the Ministry also
plays a part in the Government -wide bursary scheme
and we currently have two bursary students: one in
Land Valuation, Ms. Andesha Busby, who is presently
studying for a bachelor’s degree in real estate; and
Ms. Tabia Butterfield, who is presently studying for a
bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. The Ministry is
in need of additional bursary students in the areas of
Land Valuation; Estates and Buildings, and Surveying
for 2019/20.
Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I would
like to repeat that, if someone is listening in: the Mini stry is in need of additional bursary students in the ar eas of Land Valuation; Estates and Buildings, and Surveying for 2019/20. And the Ministry Headquarters is in the Post Office building on the third floor, if you
need to find it.
[Laughter]
Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman, the current
account budget for the Human Resources section,
3613, is $589,000 for fiscal year 2019/20, an increase
of $82,000 for salary uplift and summer student employment.
Mr. Chairman, the objective of the Architect
Design programme, 3614, is to deliver architectural design support for Government’s capital development
projects in a professional, fiscally prudent, and timely
manner. Further, it provides opportunities for Berm udian graduates in architecture and related disciplines
to obtain the necessary experience and training to
acquire professional des ignations in their chosen field. The total budget for the Architect Design pr ogramme, 3614, for 2019/20 is $59,000. This repr esents a reduction of $214,000, which includes capital project recharges.
Mr. Chairman, the budgeted number of employees for the Ministry of Public Works Headquarters is 52. This can be seen on page B -217. The hea dcount has increased by four for the 2019/20 fiscal year
on account of three transferred posts and one add itional post.
Mr. Chairman, Public Works Headquarters,
will aim to :
• conduct 4 Safety and Health Assessments
with corrective actions in a year;
• conduct 20 Safety and Health training [pr ogrammes] for Ministry employees;
• improve their procurement cycle time by 5 per
cent;
• double the number of career outreach initi atives to target our young population for c areers in the Ministry; and
• improve on the finalisation of capital project
files.
The Department’s Architect Design also aims
to improve on the efficiencies realised by using an inhouse team compared to the private sector.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to the major capital
projects being managed by the Ministry of Public
Works Headquarters, the overall 2019/20 capital expenditure plan for the Public Works Headquarters is
$7,942,000, the details of which can be found on page
C-5 of the Capital Accounts Estimates. And the Capital Developments include:
• Minor Works, 75050—there is no provision;
• Miscellaneous Small Projects, 75053—$150,000;
• WEDCO Capital Grant, 75054—$1,973,000;
• Office Relocation/Alterations, 75099—$1 mi llion;
• WEDCO South Basin Land Reclamation,
75334—$4,819,000.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Public Works
Headquarters also provides a capital grant of
$4,800,000 to the Bermuda Housing Corporation. This
is found on page C -5 of the Capital Accounts Est imates.
Mr. Chairm an, the overall 2019/20 Capital A cquisitions planned for the Public Works Headquarters
is $2,783,000. Details are found on page C -12 under
Schedule C of the Capital Accounts Estimates, and include:
• Cost centre, 76495, Vehicles and Equipment,
$2 million tow ards replacement of aged GP
vehicles as well as equipment;
• Cost centre, 76868, Communications Equi pment, $783,000 towards the Prospect tower
replacement, Fort George building enclosure,


Bermuda Senate and anti -climb barriers with high gates for the
remaining towers.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my presentation
for the Ministry of Public Works, Headquarters, Head
36. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Senator Campbell.
We will now move on to Head 53, Bermuda
Housing Corporation, found on page B -223.

HEAD 5 3—BERMUDA HOUSING CORPORATION
Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman, as you know,
the Bermuda Housing Corporation, Head 53, is not a department within the Ministry of Public Works, but rather a quasi -autonomous non- government organis ation, commonly referred t o as a quango, which r eceives financial support in the form of a grant from the
Government as indicated on page B -223.
Therefore, I will provide a general overview of
their operations, some of the highlights of the past
year, and plans for the upcoming ye ar.
Mr. Chairman, the mission statement of the
Bermuda Housing Corporation is to provide access ibility to adequate affordable housing and promote i ndependent living to enhance the quality of life in Bermuda. The vision statement is every Bermudian will
reside in an adequate and safe environment.
The Bermuda Housing Corporation’s grant
allocation of $6,050,000 represents no change from
the previous year. The allocated grant will be used to
subsidise the annual cost of repairs, normal maint enance of propert ies, support services for families and
individuals, rental assistance via Rent Geared to I ncome to clients of the Corporation, and for the conti nuation of the H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck programme.
Mr. Chairman, in addition to the operating assistance grant, the B HC will receive a capital grant of
$4.8 million for 2019/20, which can be found on page
C-21, the same as last year. The capital grant will be
used to pay the interest and principal amounts due on
the Corporation’s outstanding bank loan of
$35,850,000. There are no other changes between the 2018/19 and 2019/20 grant allocations.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Housing Corpor ation’s head office is located at the recently renamed Seven Arches Building, East Entrance, 44 Church
Street, in the City of Hamilton. The Seven Arches
Building is the name chosen for the building to reflect
the Bermuda Housing Corporation’s aim to be the
archway to affordable housing for Bermudians,
whether it be rental units or home ownership.
The staff presently consists of 41 full -time
personnel and 5 young bright Bermudian interns. Of
their total number of full -time staff members, four
H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck members operate from office space at the Harmony Club and four staff members
under the Support Services Department directions and operate from a satellite office in the Southside
Complex in St. David’s.
The current structure of the BHC consists of
seven departments:
• Project Management, 2 employees;
• Property Operations, 10 employees;
• Finance, Collections, and Home Ownership Services, 8 em ployees;
• Support Services, 10 employees;
• Administration, 5 employees;
• Human Resources, 2 employees; and
• H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck, 4 employees.
Mr. Chairman, the primary functions of the
Bermuda Housing Corporation are to provide housing
for Bermudians, promote home ownership, to undertake and carry out housing schemes, and to undertake such other functions in connection with housing
as the Minister responsible for housing may require.
The Corporation continues to provide met hods for Bermudians to gain entry into the housing
market, whether it is by way of becoming first -time
homeowners or renting affordable units that are avai lable. The Corporation continues to strive to provide
adequate, achievable and affordable housing which
will benefit the residents of the Is land of Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, the Corporation continues a
public/private partnership with Clarien Bank to assist
hard- working Bermudians to obtain their first home.
To date the HomeStart programme has assisted 14
Bermudian families in their quest to becom e first -time
homeowners. The initiative has been very successful in providing properties for sale at affordable prices.
The sale price of these properties has been signif icantly reduced in return for sweat equity to bring the
properties back to a healthy, habitable state. Many of
the properties on offer were previously vacant and
derelict so unhealthy eyesores have been removed
from the Bermudian landscape.
Mr. Chairman, the Corporation administers a
number of programmes in pursuit of its mission including: managing and leasing a large inventory of properties comprising of houses, apartments, and rooming
houses. Some of these properties are owned by the
Corporation and others are leased from the private
sector. The BHC manages 500 Government and pr ivate sect or residential units Island- wide and 6 trans itional homes, comprising 180 rooms.
The BHC also manages and controls the
H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck programme. This is an acronym
for “Helping the Unemployed Sustain Themselves with
Limited Employment,” which has been in successful
operation since 2007. This year marks the 12
th anniversary of the programme. Mr. Chairman, it was
Thursday, April 5, 2007, that the Bermuda Housing
Corporation brought the H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck pr ogramme to life by contracting eight young men and women of Middletown Lower to paint over graffiti on
walls of BHC’s property in that area. It was very encouraging to see the young men and women take
402 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate pride in their work and, in one case, it was extremely
gratifying to hear one of the men chastise his fr iend
who was sitting on a wall that was newly painted,
chiding him for marking up the wall with his sneakers.
Mr. Chairman, he had taken ownership of his work.
Since then the Corporation, through the
H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck programme, has helped over a
thousand unemployed Bermudians in need of short -
term temporary employment and assisted many of
them with finding full -time jobs. In addition, the pr ogramme has provided much valued assistance to our
seniors, community groups, churches and schools,
and neighbourhoods.
The Corporation works with local banks to assist Bermudian clients to retain their homes by advi sing on the best steps to manage mortgage payments when they are under threat due to the continuing challenges of our economic times.
Mr. Chairman, the Cor poration continues to
find ways to reduce expenses and generate positive cash flows. Through efficient use of current staffing levels, redistribution of duties, retraining and in- house
seminars, the Corporation has been able to use avai lable staff to ensur e daily operations are performed to
expectations and, in some cases, exceeding expected
levels. Further additional efficiencies and cost savings
are underway as the Corporation is working towards the integration of the administration of the Bermuda
Land Development Company operations with the o perations of the Bermuda Housing Corporation.
In addition, the Corporation has been meeting
with the West End Development Corporation and is in
the process of negotiating a Memorandum of Under-standing between BHC, BLD C and WEDCO which will
address opportunities for cost savings and operational
efficiencies for properties owned by BHC/BLDC in the
western end of the Island and to be maintained by
WEDCO.
Mr. Chairman, the BHC is in the process of
transforming the Grand At lantic condos into Berm uda’s newest tourism venture, the Bermudiana Beach
Resort condo hotel. The painting of the buildings in
traditional Bermuda colours and the complete renov ation of the show units continue apace. Very shortly we
expect there to be a pu blic announcement on the exciting news of an anchor brand hotel chain who would
be managing the property —more information on this
to follow as presently we are under a nondisclosure
agreement until the final details are ratified.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Housing Corpor ation continues to have empathy for many of its clients
who have suffered a decline in their income through unemployment or underemployment. The Corporation
has regular meetings with clients to help them nav igate through these difficult social, economic and f inancial times. It is worth noting that the Corporation
does not evict clients for an inability to pay rent, but
rather when the difficult decisions are made to evict, it
is because of clients’ irresponsible or unhealthy b e-haviour after multiple meetings, cautions, and intervention programmes.

Senator Campbell, if I could just interrupt you. It is now 12:30. The Senate will now adjourn
for lunch and will be returning at 2:15 this afternoon.
The Senate is adjourned.

Proceedi ngs suspended at 12:30 pm

Proceedings resumed at 2:15 pm

[Sen. James S. Jardine, Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2019/20

MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS

HEAD 53 —BERMUDA HOUSING CORPORATION

[Continuation of debate thereon ]

Good afternoon, Senators and liste ning public. It is now 2:15 , and we are going to continue
with the debate, which was started this morning, from
the Ministry of Public Works. And when we broke for
lunch, we were on Head 53, wh ich is the Bermuda
Housing Corporation. And it was being presented by
Senator Campbell.
Senator Campbell, you have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the Rent Geared- to-Income in itiative gives real relief to clients by assisting them with
the rent of only 25 per cent of their combined hous ehold income, regardless of the employment status of
family members. Part of this programme includes a
mandatory 10 per cent savings portion of the monthly
household income to guide cl ients into positive saving
habits for long- term goals.
Mr. Chairman, the BHC operates six rooming,
or transitional , houses that contain a total of approx imately 180 beds. The various houses are located throughout the Island and provide a safe habitat for
BHC clients. The rooming houses cater to households
that need immediate, safe or emergency accommoda-tion. The Support Services D epartment holds regular
meetings with rooming house residents to hear con-cerns and address complaints from the residents of
the facilities.
Mr. Chairman, the satellite offices at the lar gest rooming houses , at Southside, are charged with
regular meetings with clients who have fallen on hard
times. The support given includes economic, social
and psychological guidance to occupants t o assist
them in graduating out of the facility into more trad iBermuda Senate tional Bermuda living . Since its 2007 inception, 380
families have transferred out of the rooming house
facilities.
Mr. Chairman, Gulfstream multi -unit rooming
house comprises 78 rooms and curr ently houses 54
families from various backgrounds. Some families
have adjoining rooms to ensure adequate privacy for
parents and children. The Gulfstream residents are
appreciative of the opportunity , and regular house
meetings are held to listen to and al lay concerns b efore they become problematic to society. Unfortunat ely, some clients have not been compliant with meeting
requests to discuss issues and only react when given
ultimatums or penalties for their errant behaviour.
Mr. Chairman, Building 632, known as Langley House, is a 61- bed rooming house, also located at
Southside, St. David’s. The rooming house is used
specifically to house men in need of affordable, safe
accommodation. There are currently 50 men residing
in the rooming facility. The Corporation has qualified
social workers working out of this satellite office, i ncluding a former police officer, to monitor and correct
antisocial behaviour.
Mr. Chairman, the Corporation is in the pr ocess of transforming the Harmony Club property into studio and one- bedroom units , which will be used pr imarily to house seniors who can live independently.
The Harmony Club property is also used as the
H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck offices, and the gatehouse buil ding is used to provide emergency accommodations for
persons in i mmediate distress or in need of immediate
re-housing.
Mr. Chairman, t he BHC has recently initiated
an intern programme for five young Bermudians , who
are working with the Corporation for one year. This
intern programme is used to ensure that our young peop le have guidance and counselling as they make
firm decisions on their career choices. The interns are
young, progressive and impressionable. They are:
• Tameka King , who has passed her overseas
exams in law and who is working out of the
Corporation’s Propert y Operations Depar tment;
• Mr. Shane Simmons, who is keenly interested in project management and who is also wor king with the Property Operations Department;
• Miss Kinda Bassett, who is assisting in the
Projects Development Department, and assisting project m anagers in their architectural
drawings and project management;
• Mr. Traonda Davis , who is keenly interested in
computers and [is] working with the IT D epartment with support from IT tech firm Smith
Technologies; and finally,
• Mr. Joshua Thompson, who is wor king with
the Finance team and joins with the Property Operations when needed.
Mr. Chairman, the Projects Department, consisting of two employees, assists with advice regar d-ing major repair work necessary on existing buildings
owned by the Corporation to ensure longevity of the
Corporation’s assets. The department has recently
been restructured with the project managers overseeing multiple dwellings that come under the BHC remit
to ensure that effective and cost -conscious maint enance programmes keep the units in liveable cond ition. They also are responsible for initial drawings of
projected capital projects , as well as the project management of the properties through to completion.
Projects planned for the year include :
1. conversion of blocks B and D at Harmony
Club into one- bedroom and studio units;
2. restoration and conversion from five units to
nine units of the Chelsea Apartments in St.
George’s;
3. renovation and conversion of the former St.
David’s preschool building into loft apar tments; and
4. renovation and c onversion of the former St.
George’s Police Barracks into a rooming house.
Mr. Chairman, the Property Operations D epartment is responsible for the maintenance of BHC’s
housing stock of approximately 700 units Island- wide,
including the rooming houses. The department’s r esponsibilities include the regular maintenance of buil dings under the control of BHC and providing advice and assistance to clients of BHC on housing- related
matters. The department comprises three property
officers, six maintenance officers and one administr ative assistant. The department conducts regular
maintenance checks of buildings under the management of the Corporation and is responsible for small
maintenance work s, along with coordinating more di fficult tasks with trusted and able [ outside ] contractors.
Last year , the Property Operations Depar tment completed approximately 2,700 maintenance requests . The requests for maintenance that this c apable department handles are wide- ranging, and they
tackle everything from simple plumbing, elec trical,
water, sewage and roof repairs to landscaping, paint-ing, flooring and major renovations.
Mr. Chairman, the Finance Department has a
total staff of nine employees , consisting of one finance
manager ; two assistant finance managers, one of
whom is res ponsible for reporting and the other for IT;
one account supervisor; three finance officers; and one cashier.
The Finance Department carefully monitors
the Corporation’s spending and compliance, ensuring that policies and procedures are adhered to and that
clients act responsibly in paying their bills in a timely
manner. The Finance Department fields questions of
a financial nature, provides mortgage advice and assists clients with understanding their financial oblig ations to the Corporation.
Mr. Chairman, the Support Services Depar tment is the department responsible for ensuring that
404 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate adequate housing is found for BHC clients. The d epartment conducts regular inspections of BHC housing inventory to ensure that clients are compliant with
their rental contracts . The department consists of 10
persons: one manager; one rentals caseworker; two transitional house caseworkers; two junior transitional
house caseworkers; three rental inspectors; and one
intake officer.
There is a current waitlist for BHC accomm odation of approximately 108 clients. Mr. Chairman, the
Minister does not believe that this is an accurate r eflection of those in need, s imply from the number of
requests that come directly to him at his office . Many
people have given up hope that BHC can assist them.
To that extent, Mr. Chairman, the Minister launched a survey last week, I believe it was Wednesday, and
with your permission, I would like to provide an update
on the results so far.

Certainly. Please proceed, Senator.

Sen. Vance Camp bell: So, since last week Wednesday, and this is as of yesterday, around midday yesterday, there have been 955 responses that have
been received. Of those responses, 53 per cent report
that they are adequately housed. And conversely,
47 per cent report that they are not adequately
housed. Of the respondents, 50 per cent own their
own homes. According to the respondents, $300,000
is considered an affordable purchase price for a onebedroom unit, $400,000 for two bedrooms and
$500,000 to $700,000 for three be drooms. Most of the
respondents are seeking cheaper accommodations —
that is, 37 per cent —followed closely by those nee ding a large accommodation, 34 per cent, due to
crow ding or growth in the family. And lastly, most are
seeking two- bedroom accommodations.
And we will provide further updates to the r esults of the survey as they become available.
The Support Services Department offers myriad services to clients , which include money manag ement, housekeeping, social and behavioural problem
eradication, child c are, and health and safety gui dance. In addition, the department offers advice on
support from other agencies that stand ready to assist
clients who are in need of professional counselling.
Mr. Chairman, the Administration Department
consists of the gener al manager, one executive assi stant, one receptionist and two office assistants. The
Administration Department is responsible for the orderly daily business of the Corporation.
Mr. Chairman, t he Human Resource Depar tment has a total staff of two. The HR Department ensures that staff has the required skills to efficiently and
successfully carry out their daily roles at the Corpor ation, ensures employee welfare, and provides mentoring and training services.
Mr. Chairman, t he H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck pr ogramme conti nues to be of valuable assistance to un-employed persons who actively seek work. The
H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck operates from the Harmony Club
and caters to 20 temporary employees per week. The
H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck continues to be of valuable assi stance to Bermuda, with the ability to adjust to the
needs of the community as they arise.
The current cost of this programme is approximately $1 million per year —that is, 20 people per
week , for up to three months total employment per
year, taking one week off each month to look for regular employment. At this level , the Corporation is able
to rotate through approximately 260 different people
per year. The programme is available for any unemployed Bermudian. At present , there are approximat ely 35 people on the waitlist daily , who are advised to
return the following day for an opportunity to work.
The H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck office keeps a dat abase of information on the unemployed and their skill
sets for the specific purpose of making a good fit
when partnering with employers. The office regularly
receives requests from employers for qualified and
suitable potential employees. Upon receipt of those requests, the database is checked and those persons
who have the required qualifications are sent on interviews in the hopes of achieving full -time traditional
employment.
In practice, the H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck has fu ndamentally replaced the bulk -based pickup section
that was closed in the Ministry of Public Works some
time ago, as a cost -saving measure, by collecting and
cleaning neighbourhoods of illegally dumped bulk
waste items such as mattresses, sofas, furniture and appliances , on a weekly basis. Last year , 11 former
members were successful in gaining full -time e mployment and several members were given guidance
on starting their own busi nesses as entrepreneurs.
One of the programmes within the
H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck has a team of four persons wor king in conjunction with a property officer to learn construction skills. This team works to bring vacant and
derelict Corporation properties back online.
The programme is about to start on a new initiative , which will assist members with gaining a foothold into the door of full -time employment , by teaching
them transferable skills in computing operations.
Mr. Chairman, t he H.U.S.T.L.E. Truck also
continues the partnership with the Department of Corrections in providing temporary employment to i nmates who are seeking parole or are about to be r eleased from the c orrections facilities. The officers l iaise with senior corrections officers and commit to
employing qualified former inmates to assist them in
gaining meaningful workplace experience.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Housing Corpor ation has a very important role to play in Bermudian
society, assisting vulnerable people, including seniors,
mental health patients, inmates, young people and
those who have fallen on hard financial times. They
continue to come up with courageous, innovative


Bermuda Senate plans to help Bermuda combat the escalating cost of
living , which is causing stresses in many Bermudian
families. They a re committed to their task and willingly
embrace new challenges.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank
the Board of Directors and the management and staff
of the Bermuda Housing Corporation for their stellar
service to Bermuda.

All right.

HEAD 68 —PARKS

Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman, the Depar tment of Parks, under the Ministry of Public Works, is
responsible for the administration of protected areas
listed under the Bermuda National Parks Act 1986. This Act incorporates changes and amendments from
the Bermuda National Parks Amendment Act 2009,
and the Bermuda National Parks Amendment Act 2017. The areas under the Act are inclusive of nature
reserves and amenity parks, which include beaches
and recreational parks under the Department of Youth and Sport.
The department is also responsible for landscape and horticultural maintenance of roadside verges, schoolgrounds, clinics, rest homes, post offices
and other government properties such as Clifton, Laurels, Montpelier [Arboretum] and Government House,
as well as propagating plants necessary for these
grounds.
As per the Act, the department is also tasked
with providing safe protected areas where patrons,
residents and visitors can enjoy active and passive
recreational pursuits. There is also an education component, where patrons learn through explori ng cultural
history by way of forts, graveyards and bar n kilns, or
learning about the environment, natural resources,
flora and fauna.
Mr. Chairman, the department has an objective to maintain and manage all protected areas to a high standard. In the peak spring and summer season, the department provides a highly trained and pr ofessional lifeguard service at four public beaches, and
is mandated by the Bermuda National Parks Act 1986
to enforce the Bermuda National Parks Regulations 1988. Ultimately, the de partment has to protect, co nserve and preserve open spaces for present and f uture generations.
Mr. Chairman, the current account expenditure estimate allotted to the Department of Parks for the 2019/20 fiscal year is $9,644,000, and that can be found on page B -225. This represents a 2 per cent decrease of $164,000 compared to the 2018/19 orig inal estimate.
The department budget is divided into the various programmes, including Administration and Pla nning, Park Ranger Service, Lifeguard Service, the Park M aintenance Section encompassing Gover nment House, Maintenance and Development, Eastern
Parks, Tree Service, Western Parks, School Grounds,
Tulo Valley, the Botanical Gardens, Forts and Histor ical Sites, and the Railway Trails. The Annual Exhib ition is list ed, but is not funded.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Parks has
143 posts, which can be seen on page B -227, within
its remit, which remains unchanged from 2018/19. However, it is important to note that the department
operated during the 2018/19 budget year within only
118 posts most of the year. The capital development estimate for the department for the year is $500,000,
found on page C -5.
An amount of $200,000 is for parks improv ements to include the installation of a new lifeguard tower, installation of one more outdoor fitness equi pment centre, repairs to buildings in Botanical Gardens
and restor ation of designated parks. It also includes
$300,000 for a purpose -built administration and
maintenance buil ding at Marsh Folly.
Through this brief, Mr. Chai rman, the Minister
would like to reiterate that there will be no maint enance facility constructed at Botanical Gardens.
An additional $400,000 under capital acquis itions (and that can be found on page C -13) has been
allocated for vehicle acquisitions for the Maintenance
Section, to replace an ageing, mechanically chal-lenged fleet of vehicles, inclusive of chippers, which
are an integral part of the Emergency Measures O rganisation (better known as the EMO).
Mr. Chairman, revenues for the department
are projected to be $104,000 in 2019/20, which is a $16,000, or 18 per cent, increase from the 2018/19
original estimate. The projected increase can be attributed to the updated fees introduced in the Berm uda National Parks Amendment (No. 2) Act 2017.
Increases in the demand for special permits
for events such as beach weddings for tourists at
Warwick Long Bay, Justin’s Cove, Stone Hole Bay and Captain Bay in South Shore Park, as well as Fort
St. Catherine, have been widely documented in the
media.
Secondly, there has been a marked increase
in organised functions such as birthday parties, where
laser tag occurs, in addition to bonfires on various
beaches.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN

SENATE VISITORS

Senator, if I could just interrupt you
for a s econd to acknowledge the presence in the
406 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Senate this afternoon of the Permanent Secretary for
Public Works, Randy Rochester.
Welcome, sir, this afternoon.
And I understand that there are other repr esentatives from the Ministry here, as well. Welcome.
Very nice to see you here this afternoon.
Senator, please continue.

[Committee of Supply, continuing]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Fort St. Catherine, with the World Heritage
designation, continues to attract interested patrons.
Mr. Cha irman, camping and special permit
fees for functions at various beaches are expected to
collect $20,000. Concessions fees will amount to
$7,000. A full $60,000 will be raised from the activities
at Fort St. Catherine. Lifeguard service fees will pr ovide $1,000. And horticultural produce is expected to
provide $5,000. Lastly, Botanical Gardens and arbor etum facilities , the rental of buildings and grounds is
estimated to provide $10,000.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to report on key
activities in the respectiv e sections of the Parks D epartment for the upcoming 2019/20 budget cycle. And
I will start with administration and planning, which is
78050, on page B -225. Administration, which will have
a budget of $1,448,000, is the hub of the department
and encompasses the Park Planning Section, which
will be planning and implementing the following pr ojects for the budget year: installation of a third fitness
equipment station at Death Valley Park in the West.
This follows the successful installation of the fitness equipment stations at the arboretum and Mullet Bay in
St. George’s .
The final phase of the installation of the new
lifeguard tower at John Smith’s Bay Park will be com-pleted following the implementation of recommendations from the Department of Planning. T he new lif eguard tower is already on Island.
Mr. Chairman, the management plans for
Southlands and Botanical Gardens will be updated.
Staff in various divisions will be trained in geographic information systems to improve documentation of data
and resources.
With the assistance of the Estates Section,
licences or leases will be drafted for concession operations at various parks and beaches. The boat ramp
at Stone Crusher Corner in Kidney Field Park will be
improved. The sale centre building and the greenhous e at Tulo Valley Plant Nursery will be replaced in
order to increase the production of plants for Bermuda
Government properties.
Mr. Chairman, the department will also enter
into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ag Show Ltd. for another three years , from 2020 to 2022,
to assist with the planning and operation of the popular annual exhibition. This assistance includes personnel, buildings, grounds, props, infrastructure and utilities. New signage, park benches and picnic tables
will be placed in the parks and beaches.
Mr. Chairman, Southlands Park will be
brought to the forefront in order to restore the grounds
for safe, educational and productive use by the pa-trons. The three arable parks will be returned to pr oduction, with one designated as a comm unity garden.
The department will continue to network and collabo-rate with industry partners in order to achieve goals
and objectives that are beneficial and progressive for
the park system, inclusive of organisations, such as, the Keep Bermuda Beautiful, the Bermuda Tourism
Authority, Bermuda Zoological Society, Mirrors, the
Garden Club, Botanical Society and the Skills Deve lopment Programme, to name a few.
Administration will continue to process special
permits and collect fees for the various functions in
parks. This section also provides support services to
the Minister’s legislated board, the National Parks
Commission.
Mr. Chairman, the Administration section has
suffered with a lack of substantive employees in senior management positions, which has r esulted in r evolving acting appointments and a lack of clarity with
leadership and understanding of park management
operations. This will be addressed as a priority in the
fiscal year to ensure that the department focuses on
the following: strategic planni ng, updating and developing management plans (as per the Act), targeted
training and development of staff and the integration
of synergies with the various sections. This will result
in stability, improved staff morale and increased productivity.
Mr. Chai rman, the Park Rangers Service
small team has operated, like many other sections,
with a shortage of staff. The budget for the 2019/20
fiscal year is $459,000. This section has taken the lead with some of the public/private partnerships,
which are bearing positive achievements. The section
has been directly involved with the Friends of the
Bermuda Railway Trail and assisted with most of the
landscape culling of invasive vegetation before the
installation of the six new bridges in Flatts, as phase
one of the scheme. Phase two will involve bridging
Flatts Inlet. Employees of the Park Service Section
will provide assistance in this project.
Mr. Chairman, the section has also fostered a
working relationship with the Bermuda Police Service, primarily the Communi ty Action Team, which has pr ovided valuable assistance when enforcing the Berm uda National Park Regulations 1988. At Southlands Park, they were directly involved with culling invasive
species with the Bermuda Zoological Society and
PricewaterhouseCoopers i n order to start the process
of restoring the park on the western boundaries. This
initiative will continue.
Mr. Chairman, the Park Ranger Service also
works closely with the Bermuda Bicycle Association and Fat Tire Massive to provide assistance in mai nBermuda Senate taining trails in designated parks. The parks patrol
boat has been upgraded with a new outboard motor
and patrols so that the Island base parks and nature
reserves will be more consistent. The campground at
Higgs and Horseshoe Island Parks will be cleared, as will the military graveyard and lime kilns at Ferry Point
Park. A joint initiative with the Ministry of Tourism and
Transport will see traffic coordinators on duty at the
Horseshoe Bay parking lot in order to organise and
control the taxi and minibus fleets for transporting
passengers primarily to and from the cruise ships in Dockyard.
Mr. Chairman, the Lifeguard Service has a
budget of $472,000 for 2019/20. This year will see the installation of the new lifeguard tower at John Smith’s Bay Park, which is a pilot tower to test how they will
work in our climate. This will ensure that lifeguard ser-vices return to this popular beach. The department
anticipates that there will be 30 seasonal and reserve
lifeguards trained and certified under the Royal Lif esaving Society (RLS) and will be challenged to try and
meet the expanded cruise ship tourism season, which
will operate from April to November 2019.
The Lifeguard Service works alongside the
Park Ranger Service and will continue to provide the following servi ces: They will once again provide lif eguard and water safety support during the swim portion of the second ITU Bermuda International Triathlon
swim familiarisation, on Friday, 26
th April, with the
main event held on Saturday, the 27th of April 2019. In
conjunction with the Park Ranger Service, it will also
provide training and certification of 20 staff in the D epartment of Parks in either the American Heart Ass ociation basic life support or Bermuda Red Cross community CPR, AED [automated external defibrill ators] and First Aid with the instructors who have been
certified.
Mr. Chairman, the combined budget will be
$6,847,000. This section comprises the following, and
I am talking about the Park Maintenance Section:
• Government House, cost centre 78015, with a
budget of $254,000;
• Maintenance and Development, cost centre 78020, with a budget of $871,000;
• Eastern Parks, cost centre 78030, with a
budget of $1,039,000;
• Tree Service, cost centre 78035, with a budget of $567,000;
• Western Parks, cost centre 78040, wit h a
budget of $1,368,000;
• School Grounds, cost centre 78045, with a
budget of $553,000;
• Tulo Valley Plant Nursery, cost centre 78055,
with a budget of $394,000;
• Botanical Gardens and the Arboretum, cost
centre 78065, with a budget of $1,481,000;
and lastly ,
• The Railway Trail, cost centre 78101, with a
budget of $320,000. Mr. Chairman, the combined sections provide
landscape and horticultural maintenance and the nec-essary bedding plants for the Island’s parks, beaches,
nature reserves, roundabouts, schools and gover nment properties. In addition to the maintenance performed by these employees, in 2019/20, they will
make improvements to Blue Hole Park, repairs to the
platform at the Lagoon, repair and replace the fencing
in Spanish Point Park, Astwood Park, C haplin Bay,
Admiralty House Park, Mullet Bay Park and Shelly Bay Park.
They will repair and upgrade bathroom facil ities in the parks, install park benches and picnic t ables at various parks and beaches such as John Smith’s Bay, Astwood Park, West Whale Ba y and
South Shore Parks and Warwick Long Bay pla ygrounds. They will replace gates at parks, beaches and the Railway Trails, and they will be involved in the
restoration and improvement of parks, including Cody
Island, Admiralty House, Shelly Bay, Ferry Poi nt,
Kindley Field, South Shore Park and Southlands. This
will involve the major clearing of invasive species and
replanting with native and endemics.
In 2018, there was the implementation of an
in-house horticultural landscape training and development pr ogramme for employees in the Park
Maintenance Section. Employees attended class, conducted field trips and were trained professionally
to international standards. The temporary enviro nmental educational officer, who developed and structured the programme m odules to the varied emplo yees, was instrumental in successfully graduating 25
employees at level 1 certification as landscape gardeners with the Department of Workforce Development.
Mr. Chairman, at Tulo Valley Plant Nursery,
plans are progressing for the repairs to the slat house
and replacement of both the greenhouse and sales
centre, as outlined above. This Government plant
nursery will play an instrumental role in the roadside
beautification initiative by propagating ornamental
ground covers to be planted at the roadside, to compete with and minimise the growth of weeds.
Mr. Chairman, the restoration and improv ement of Botanical Gardens is still a work in progress. The process for the updating of the management plan has started for Botanical Gardens, which will assist in
progressing forward the initiatives to improve the
property and return the property to former glory. The
networking with key industry partners will be key in
achieving this objective. Improvements to the Botan ical Gardens include repai rs to the Exotic House, the
Cactus and Succulent House, replacement of the education building and a proposed open plan barn in the
stables section near the main ring.
The upgrading of the collections will continue,
and plant labels will be installed. Benc hes and picnic
tables will also be replaced. Fencing will be installed
to control traffic flow, and parking, with the former
408 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate garage and maintenance yard site, being repurposed
in the short term at the parking lot.
Mr. Chairman, the budget for the Railway Trail
is $320,000. The Railway Trail continues to be one of
the most actively used parks in the system year -round
for both residents and tourists, and has major events
such as the popular E nd-to-End the first week in May.
And it benefits by way of the constant promotion by
the Bermuda Tourism Authority. Mr. Chairman, in
2018/19, staff were tasked with again providing the
landscape maintenance of the Railway Trails, and they have been able to achieve this objective within
budget. The same will apply for 201 9/20.
Mr. Chairman, projects planned for the Rai lway Trail in 2019/20 include replacement of damaged
gates, installation of park benches, repairs of da maged fences, culling of invasive plants and restoration of uneven surfaces primarily in the western sections.
The department will network with Friends of the Bermuda Railway Trail and their industry partners for the
surface restoration project in phase two of Flatts Inlet.
Mr. Chairman, the budget for 2019/20 will be
$418,000. The primary management responsibility for this section is Fort St. Catherine, a World Heritage
Site, and other forts in the eastern parishes. However,
jurisdiction for managing forts extends to other parks
in the national park system. The section is somewhat hindered, as a management decision has resulted in
no defined leader. However, staff continue to market the fort with the Bermuda Tourism Authority and destination -based magazines and publications. Revenues
and patrons should definitely increase, correlated with
the projected incr ease in tourists for the 2019 season.
In 2019/20, Fort St. Catherine will continue to be a
venue of choice for weddings and corporate events.
Projects planned for the fiscal year include
painting of the guns at Fort St. Catherine, Alexandra
Battery, Gates Fort and St. David’s Battery; replac ement of the entrance bridge to Fort St. Catherine; and refurbishment and replacement of the signs at West
Whale Bay Fort.
Mr. Chairman, in closing, I take this opportun ity to thank the staff of the Department of Parks , who
through their many challenges such as lack of stable leadership and equipment challenges, have continued
to work to the best of their abilities to achieve the goals and objectives, as well as to complete the
planned projects. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Senator Campbell.
That concludes the presentation on Head 68.
And we will now move to Head 81, which is
Public Lands and Buildings.

[Pause]

HEAD 81 —PUBLIC LANDS AND BUILDINGS
Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman, Head 81, Public Lands and Buildings, can be found on pages B -231
to B-233, and the capital expenditure on C -13.
Mr. Chairman, it is the responsibility of the
Department of Public Lands and Buildings to efficiently manage the government property portfolio to enable
the delivery of effective public services. Mr. Chairman,
the Department of Public Lands and Buildings is r esponsible for managing the government estate of over 2,000 acres and some 751 buildings. The land and
buildings uses are diverse and range from arable lands to a zoo, with all manner of land and building
use in between. The department provides a critical
support role to ministries and departments to ensure
that their real estate needs are met in order for them
to provide services to the public. Without the real estate, there are no public services.
Mr. Chairman, I will highlight throughout my
presentation the four programmes, or sections, within
the department, as well as the plans for the upcoming
fiscal year, that are designed to meet that responsibi lity.
Mr. Chairman, on page B -231, you will note
that there are four main programmes for the Depar tment of Public Lands and Buildings. And they are as
follows:
• 8100, Administration;
• 8101, Buildings;
• 8102, Estates; and
• 8103, Land Surveys.
Mr. Chairman, the total budget allocated to
the Department of Public Lands and Buildings is
$19,472,000, and that can be found on page B -231,
for the fiscal year 2019/20, as compared with
$19,507,000 for the original fiscal year 2018/19. This represents a decrease of $35,000, and this decrease
reflects the Government’s continued drive to increase efficiencies whilst reducing costs. Mr. Chairman, the
total number of staff or full -time equivalents for the
department is 152 for the budget year 2019/20. And
that is found on page B -232.
Mr. Chairman, the Estates Section is responsible for the management of the Government Estates, the building section responsible for its maintenance
and repair, and the Land Survey Section responsible
for mapping cadastral surveys. The fourth programme
is the Administration, Training and Apprenticeship
Programme, which comprises mainly the director of the department and the trainees and apprentices.
Mr. Chairman, the budgets for the pr ogrammes are as follows:
• 8100, Administration, $274,000;
• 8101, Buildings , $9,086,000;
• 8102, Estates , $9,790,000; and
• 8103, Land Surveys , $322,000.
Mr. Chairman, the decrease in programme
8100 is due to the some of the apprentices in 8100 graduating and moving into substantive posts in pr ogramme 8101. This led to the increase in the 8101


Bermuda Senate Buildings Programme. There was further requirement
to make savings across the board and include the
2 per cent salary increase. Mr. Chairman, this was
done by reducing the budget for overtime so that only emergency callouts are budget ed for. In addition, the
increase is owing to more aged buildings requiring
more repairs. The decrease in programme 8102, E states, is owing to posts being frozen following retir ements and vacation of those posts. The programme 8103, Land Surveys, has increased due to the filling of
a post that has been vacant since 2012.
Mr. Chairman, programme 8100, Administr ation, Training and Apprentices, has a total budget of
$274,000. This is split between two cost centres,
namely, Administration, $227,000, and Traini ng and
Apprenticeship, $47,000. Mr. Chairman, the Admi nistration Programme objective is to provide admini strative support for the Estates and Building Sections. It
has a budget of $274,000 split into two cost centres.
When compared with the $406,000 allocation during
the fiscal year 2018/19, this budgeted amount repr esents a decrease of $132,000, or 33 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, the Administration cost centre,
91000, has a specific budget allocation of $227,000
for the fiscal year 2019/20, as compared to the
$158,000 for fiscal year 2018/19. This represents an
increase of $69,000, or 44 per cent. However, cost
centre 91001 has a budget allocation of $47,000,
achieving a savings of $201,000, giving an overall
decrease for programme 8100 of $132,000.
Mr. Chairm an, the Buildings Section, 8101,
has a total budget of $9,086,000. The buildings pr ogramme is split between two cost centres, namely, Services Management, 91002, and 91003, Maint enance. So, you have under Services Management,
$1,030,000. And under Maintena nce, you have
$8,056,000.
Mr. Chairman, the Buildings Programme, as
seen on page B -231, has a mandate to effectively
manage the maintenance, repair and renovation of all
government buildings. This programme has a total
budget of $9,086,000. When compared with the
$8,834,000 allocation during fiscal year 2018/19, this represents an increase of $252,000, or 3 per cent,
over the prior year. Again, with an ageing infrastructure, more repairs are a necessity.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to highlight some of
the achievements of the Department of Public Lands
and Buildings during the 2018/19 financial year and the plans for the 2019/20 financial year. Mr. Chai rman, the Buildings Section carried out a number of capital projects during the 2018/19 financial year in addition to the day -to-day maintenance and repair
tasks. Most notable are the public schools and the
Hamilton Health Clinic, but also included are conti nued works at the K. Margaret Carter Centre and St.
George’s Community Centre. Ongoing major works
are b eing carried out at the St. David’s Lighthouse site, Brangman Home and Government House, to
name a few.
Mr. Chairman, over $3 million has been spent
in 2018/19 on schools. The works were managed by
teams from both the Ministry of Education and Public Work s. Major projects involved the Dellwood Gym roof
and auditorium floor replacement, Purvis Primary A ssembly Hall porch roof replacement and the Lyceum Preschool retaining wall replacement. The major
works also included the interior and exterior painting
of Dellwood, Prospect Preschool, T. N. Tatem, Gilbert
Institute and Harrington Sound, which was done by
the in- house team. Contracts were also awarded to
companies to refinish wooden floors at Gilbert Inst itute, Harrington Sound, Prospect Preschool and T. N. Tatem.
Additionally, each school had a list of regular
maintenance and repairs that were tackled over the summer vacation to prepare the schools for the new
school year.
[Sen. Michelle Simmons , Chairman]
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, for
2019/20, there are a number of planned capital works
that will take place. Madam Chairman, the schools
continue to be a high priority, with the major works being currently planned for the Easter and summer breaks. Some $3 million have been budgeted for
these work s.
Madam Chairman, the scope of works at each
school is being developed between the facilities team
at education and the Ministry of Public Works, follo wing a comprehensive list of works received from a health and safety inspection that took place at each
school. A tender is being placed for private companies
to conduct condition surveys of each school. These
surveys will provide a benchmark for the current condition of the schools and identify and prioritise short -,
medium - and long- term works, together w ith costs.
Madam Chairman, the condition surveys will continue
to be rolled out to key government buildings to minimise the risk of building failures and government service interruptions.
To support this focus on planned preventative
maintenance, there ar e two building surveyors and a
secondee from the Maintenance Team in the third
post. These posts will assist with the inspection of
properties, the creation of schedules of condition, and
budgeting and planning of remedial and preventative
maintenance work .
Madam Chairman, I am happy to advise that
the refurbishment to this house, in which we sit, is i ntended to begin May of this year in order to meet its 400
th anniversary next year. This aged facility, like
many other buildings in Bermuda, is so long over due
for refurbishment. Other projects scheduled include the remodelling of the House library to accommodate a new office for the Opposition and a new bathroom
410 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate for the visiting public. In addition, upgrades to the
electrical, plumbing and the HVAC systems w ill be
done, as well as the installation of new windows.
There will also be some internal layout changes, as I
mentioned earlier, and the exterior of the building will be sealed. A budget of $800,000 has been allocated
to complete this work. This project i s being managed
by the Architect Section, Madam Chairman.
Madam Chairman, programme 8102, Estates,
has a total budget of . . . (Excuse me, Madam Chai rman. I need some water.)

Thanks.

Sen. Vance Campbell: So, Madam Chairman, pr ogramme 8102, Estates, has a total budget of
$9,790,000. The Estates Programme is split between two cost centres, 91004, Property Asset Management,
with a bu dget of $4,149,000; and Insurance, with a
budget of $5,641,000. The mandate of the Estates
Programme is to effectively manage the government
estate to provide insurance cover on all government
property and to facilitate and secure office and res idential ac commodations for government departments,
as needed.
Madam Chairman, the Estates Section pr ovides property and land- related management services
to all government ministries and departments. This service includes insurance, acquisition, letting, rental
and disposal of land and property across the Island.
This section is the custodian of the foreshore and
seabed and is responsible for licences and leasing of
the same.
Madam Chairman, the Property Asset Ma nagement cost centre, together with the insurance cost
centre, have a total allocation of $9,790,000, as compared with $9,978,000 for fiscal 2018/19. This repr esents a decrease of $188,000. Madam Chairman,
Property Asset Management, cost centre 91004, has
a total allocation of $4,149,000 for fiscal 2019/20. When compared to the $4,131,000 for fiscal 2018/19,
this budgeted amount represents an increase of $18,000. The reason for the increase is due to staffing
and electricity.
The budget for insurance, Madam Chairman,
is $5,641,000, compared to $5,847,000 for 2018/19.
This has decreased by approximately $206,000. The decrease is largely due to recharging the insurance
premiums to the quangos and other entities that are
on the government insurance policy.
Madam Chairman, $1 million has been budgeted for office relocations. Funds will be used to refurbish government spaces, where possible, to bring in departments currently renting space in the private
sector. Madam Chairman, the new space standards
for government accommodations has now been successfully implement ed with the first phase being
spearheaded by the Estates’ own office leading by example. The new model office has proven to be a welcomed environment by the team, and neighbouring
departments who share space with the section. The
team has also successfully completed the refurbis hment for the fourth floor of the Government Admi nistration Building, the former cafeteria, for the Compl iance Section of the Registrar of Companies. In add ition, refurbishment was completed for the National Security Headquarters in the Global House.
All were done according to the new space
standards. The intention is to ensure that all properties are brought back up to code and standards, as required under the Safety and Health Act and other
statutory requirements.
Madam Chairman, this more efficient modernstyle office, with flexible and agile working environment, is now the standard for all moves to new office
accommodation. The working practices of each department are being reviewed with the objective of
providing more efficient accommodation and, ultimat ely, less costly public services, whilst maintaining or improving service levels.
Madam Chairman, with the objective of i mproving management and communication, the de-partment has completed drafting the Occupancy
Agreement templat e that it will be entering into these
agreements with all departments occupying gover nment accommodation over the course of the fiscal
year 2019/20. These agreements will clearly define occupancy responsibility and budget liability between
the Department of Public Lands and Buildings and the
occupying department.
It is important that occupying departments are
aware of the facilities cost for providing their services.
They will be required to work in partnership with the Department of Lands and Buildings on these agre ements to ensure value for money from their premises.
Madam Chairman, the department will conti nue to look at opportunities to rationalise and share
property resources across the government. If property
resources are deemed to be surplus to current and future requirements, then they will be considered for
disposal. Sales of surplus properties either by sale of


Bermuda Senate freehold, or a loan for repairing lease, will generate
revenue and also reduce maintenance costs and pr ovide economic opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Madam Chairman, I now move to programme
8103, Land Surveys. This is cost centre, 91007, on
page B -231. This programme has a budget allocation
of $322,000, with four employees or full -time equiv alents for the fiscal year 2019/20, as compared to a
2018/19 budget of $289,000, with three employees, or
full-time equivalents. This represents an increase of
$33,000, or 11 per cent. And the increase is attribut able to the intended recruitment for one post. This se ction provides traditional and speci alised land surve ying expertise and guidance for the Bermuda Gover nment.
For example, they establish, maintain and
update a national control monument network across
Bermuda, ensuring that private land survey companies have a standardised and international ly compat ible coordinate system to utilise. They also perform
and advise on hydrographic surveying and survey pr ojects pertaining towards the global positioning system,
better known as GPS, which includes monitoring the
gravity field under Bermuda.
Madam Chairman, daily there are many small
projects undertaken and completed by the depar tment. Many go unnoticed by the public and are car-ried out with little or no disruption to government services. Irrespective of size or scope, great emphasis is
placed on ensuring that the work is carried out to the
highest possible standards by the staff, who continue
to take pride in their work.
Madam Chairman, as I conclude the budget
brief for Head 81, the Department of Public Lands and
Buildings, it is important to note that charismatic leadership alone does not get the job done. It is the hard
work, professionalism and dedication of the staff.
Madam Chairman, I would like to take this
opportunity to recognise the staff at Public Lands and
Buildings and thank them for t heir hard work over the
years.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you, Senator Campbell.
We are moving along, as soon as you catch
your breath and shuffle your papers, to the next head
under this Ministry, the Ministry of Public Works.
And it is Works and Engineering. We are beginning on page B -234 in the Budget Book.

[Pause]

MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS

HEAD 82 —DEPARTMENT OF WORKS AND
ENGINEERING
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, the mi ssion of the Department of Works and Engineering is to ensure the effective and prudent management of all operations and engineering services relating to the
construction, erection, improvement, maintenance and
repairs of government infrastructure. Madam Chai rman, the Department of Works and Engineering is
responsible for the provision of essential services to the Bermuda public and the maintenance of highly
visible major elements of the government infrastructure.
The range of varied and unique activities covered by the department includes garbage collecti on
and disposal, road maintenance and repairs, bridge
maintenance, government vehicle maintenance, as
well as safe water extraction, treatment and distrib ution. Services, such as, disposal of hazardous substances, disposal of vehicles and construction mater ials, recycling, composting, maintenance and repairs
of the government’s infrastructure, which includes
roads, bridges, docks and street lighting are also carried out by this department.
Madam Chairman, there are seven operational sections of the departm ent: highways, structures,
electrical/mechanical, solid waste, water/wastewater,
Tynes Bay Waste to Energy Facility, and the quarry
facility. All of them are critical to the effective oper ation and maintenance of the government’s infrastructure. It is with in this framework that I present the
Works and Engineering Department’s budget brief for
the fiscal year 2019/20.
Madam Chairman, I will now present the seven programme areas, each with a number of sub-programmes, or cost centres, as shown on pages B -
235 and B -236 of the Approved Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure, namely, programme 8200, Admi nistration; programme 8201, Engineering; programme
8202, Highways; programme 8203, Waste Management; programme 8204, Quarry Transport; pr ogramme 8205, Quarry Products; and programme
8206, Water and Sewage.

Just so that you are aware.

412 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam C hairman, the est imated budget for the Department of Works and Eng ineering for the 2019/20 fiscal year is $29,647,000,
which represents a decrease of $941,000 from the
2018/19 original budget. Programme 8200, Admi nistration, provides for the salaried senior management
team of the department. The mandate of the senior
management team is the efficient management of the
seven sections of the Ministry, including Highways,
Structures, Electrical, Mechanical, Solid Waste, Water
and Sewage, Tynes Bay Waste to Energ y Facility and
Quarry Operations.
Madam Chairman, a $259,000 budget has
been allocated for the fiscal year 2019/20. This repr esents an increase of $22,000 when compared to the 2018/19 budget allocation. This is due to an increase
in training budget attach ed to this cost centre, primar ily for safety -related training. Referring to the performance measure under business unit 92000, Admi nistration, on page B -238, for fiscal 2017/18, the total
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) accident frequency rate for the department is
currently 4.5. This is comparable to last year’s score
of 4.4 and meets the desired outcome of 5 or less.
The average number of training days per managerial
staff is forecast to be seven, as compared to six of last
year.
Madam Chairman, the full -time equivalent for
the cost centre 92000, or page B -237, is one. This is
no change from the revised 2018/19 budget.
Madam Chairman, the mandate of the Eng ineering Services Programme, which is programme 8201, on page B -235, is to pro vide quality electrical,
mechanical and structural engineering services. A
budget of $1,787,000 has been allocated for this pr ogramme, and this represents an increase of $122,000
compared to the 2018/19 budget. This programme
includes cost centres 92001 an d 92002, along with
92003. The increase is due to the addition of a new electrical superintendent post under the Electrical and
Mechanical Section.
The electrical and mechanical management in
the electrical support manage the provision of pla nning, design, construction and installation and maint enance services for electrical and mechanical systems
associated with the government’s facility. Madam Chairman, cost centre 92001, Electrical and Mechanical Management, is estimated at $748,000, representing an inc rease of $211,000 from the original 2018/19
budget. This section provides support on electrical and mechanical issues to other sections and depar tments throughout government.
Madam Chairman, referring to the performance measures, page B -238, for cost cent re 92001,
Electrical and Mechanical, the percentage of hours
billed to projects for other government departments is forecasted to be 15 per cent for 2018/19. The performance target for 2019/20 is, again, 15 per cent, and
should be achieved. Madam Chairman, the full -time equivalents for the cost centre are nine. This is three
more than the original estimate for the fiscal year of
2018/19 and represents a recent organisational
change that will add two control technicians and one
electrical superintendent post to the section.
Madam Chairman, cost centre 92002, Electr ical Support, is mainly used to provide the budget for
street lights. Cost centre 92002, Electrical Support,
has been allocated $504,000, the same as last year.
Madam Chairman, referring to the p erformance measure, page B -238, for cost centre 92002,
the Electrical Support, the number of new street lights
to be installed in fiscal 2018/19 is forecast to be 50.
The performance measure for the average number of
street lights out of service remains at 4 per cent,
which is under the desired target of less than 5 per
cent per year.
Madam Chairman, the Structural Engineering
Services, cost centre 92003, managed the provision
of structural inspections, design, construction, maint enance, project and contrac t management services, as
well as acting as the government’s functional authority
on structural and related civil engineering matters.
The budget for cost centre 92003 is $535,000, which
represents a decrease of $89,000 against the original
2018/19 budget. Madam Chairman, with regard to the
performance measures within business unit 92003, six inspections have been carried out on bridges and fourteen on docks during the year, to date. The full -
time equivalents for the cost centre are six, representing no change from fiscal 2018/19.
Madam Chairman, the mandate of pr ogramme 820, the Highways Programme, is to develop
and maintain the public road infrastructure to ensure
the safe passage of motorists and pedestrians. This
entails all work associated with planning, design and
construction of road schemes, and includes activities such as resurfacing, drainage, signage, road mar kings, retaining walls and bus shelters. They also are
mandated to provide tactical advice to other gover nment ministries and agencies on highway -related matters, to manage the improvement of public roads, to assist citizens with their private road improvement
needs under the Private Road Improvement Act and
to act as the government functional authority on high-ways, engineering and related matt ers.
Madam Chairman, a $3,718,000 budget has
been allocated to this programme, representing a de-crease of $138,000, as compared to the 2018/19 ori ginal. Madam Chairman, cost centre 92004, Manag ement, has a budget of $526,000, which represents a decrease of $35,000 compared to the original 2018/19
budget.
Madam Chairman, the performance measure
for cost centre 92004, Highways Management, ind icates that the forecasted number of communications received by the team from members of the public dur-ing fiscal 2018/19 is 720. Madam Chairman, the full -


Bermuda Senate time equivalents for the cost centre Highways Management are nine. There is no change from last year.
Cost centre 92005, Road Asphalt and Signs,
budget is $694,000, which represents a decrease of
$83,000. Madam Chairman, the performance meas-ure for business unit 92005, Asphalt and Signs, shows
that the amount of road centre- line marked out during
fiscal 2018/19 is likely to reach 12.2 kilometres. The
forecast for the road resurfacing is 4.4 kilometres,
which is below projections of 10 kilometres, due to
cost-saving measures. The full -time equivalents for
the cost centre 92005, Asphalt and Signs, are 17, the
same as in fiscal 2018/19.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92006, Public Roads Maintenance, is $862,000, which
represents an increase of $49,000 when compared to the original 2018/19 budget. This unit is responsible
for the maintenance of retaining walls, sidewalks and
other masonry work, as well as the highways’ draining
systems. Madam Chairman, the performance measure for cost centre 92006, Public Roads Maintenance, shows that three new bus shelters were erected during fiscal 2018/19. Also, 600 feet of new sidewalk is
expected to have been completed, which is on par
with the estimate of 500 feet. Madam Chair man, the
full-time equivalents for the cost centre 92006, Road
Maintenance, are 25, the same as last year.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92007, Public Road Cleaning, is $1,636,000. This represents a decrease of $69,000 compared to the prev ious year. Madam Chairman, the performance measure for business unit 92007, Public Road Cleaning, indicates that the target for fiscal 2018/19 was some 3,550 kilometres of public road cleaned by mechanical
means. This was well below estimates due to the unavailability of the mechanical sweeper, which is in
need of replacement after 15- plus years of service.
There were also 16 emergency call -outs for fiscal
2018/19, in line with estimates. The full -time equiv alents for the cost centre 92007, Public Roads Clea ning, are 25, the same as last year.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92008, Private Roads, remains unfunded due to
budget constraints. However, the Ministry was able to
progress one private road for fiscal 2018, due to funding from outside of gover nment. The performance
measure for cost centre 92008, Private Roads, ind icated that the number of private roads on the waiting
list for improvement under the Private Roads I mprovement Act 1969 is 36, one less than the previous year.
Programme 8203, Waste Management, is on
page B -235. Madam Chairman. The mandate of the
Waste Management Programme is to arrange for the collection and safe disposal of Bermuda’s solid waste.
The aim of the Waste Management Section is to serve the people of Bermuda by providing a comprehensive
waste management programme utilising the best technologies for disposal, recovery of materials and energy resource, protecting public health and saf eguarding the environment. This includes education regarding waste reduction, reuse and waste recycling;
waste collection, composting, land creation; high-temperature mass burn incineration with energy r ecovery; waste- to-energy; special and hazardous
waste disposal; the management and maintenance of
Tynes Bay Waste to Energy Facility in a reliable, safe
and cost -effective manner; and to act as the gover nment’s functional authority on all matters relating to solid waste, environmental engineering, waste- toenergy and process engineering.
Madam Chairman, a budget of $17,188,000
has been allocated to this programme for fiscal
2019/20. This represents a decrease of $1,014,000,
as compared to the 2018/19 original budget. This decrease is accounted for by a reduction in overtime for the collection section that will result from the conti nued one- day-per-week collection and the encapsulating of consolidated ash at the airport for Tynes Bay,
instead of casting of ash block, which will reduce overtime and the purchase of bulk cement.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92009 management, education and enforcement is
$342,000, which represents an increase of $15,000. The performance measure for 92009, Solid Waste
Management, was forecasted in fiscal 2018/19 to have carried out 35 educational lectures during the year. These include both schools and corpor ate ent ities, and target such aspects as waste reduction at
source. This helps to keep Bermuda in line with global
trends. The Solid Waste Section is also forecasted to placed 500 advertisements for 2018/19. All prom otional activities such as radio adverti sements, interviews and print advertisement are targeted specifically
for waste- related events. The full -time equivalents for
the cost centre Solid Waste Management are three.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92011, Recycling, is $1,093,000, which is a decrease
of $197,000 when compared to original fiscal 2018/19.
This decrease is attributed to a decrease in contracted
services. Madam Chairman, measures for cost centre
92011, Recycling, indicate that the amount of rec ycling materials collected p er month for fiscal 2018/19
is projected to be 70 tons, and the amount of e- waste
picked up to be 20 tons. The e- waste was below est imates due to a shift in recycling for e- waste items, of
which many are deemed unrecyclable. The targeted outcomes for 2019/ 20 are 75 tons for recyclables and
30 tons for e- waste. The full -time equivalents for the
Recycling Programme are five, the same as fiscal year 2018/19.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92012, Airport Disposal Facility, is $1,250,000, which is a decrease of $46,000 from last year’s original
budget. The performance measure for cost centre 92012, Airport Disposal Facility, shows that it is for ecasted that 27,000 loads of materials will be delivered
to the airport disposal facility and the number of car
414 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate scrap will be around 1,500 during fiscal 2018/19, on
par with estimates. The full -time equivalents for the
cost centre 92012, Airport Disposal Facility, are six,
with no change from 2018/19.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92013, Composting Operations, is $1,793,000, which
represents a decrease of $11,000 when compared to
the original fiscal 2018/19. The full -time equivalents
for the composting operation are 10.
Madam Chairman, cost centre 92014, Special
and Hazardous Waste, has a budget of $1,379,000,
which represents a decrease of $18,000. The performance measure for cost centre 92014, Hazardous
Waste, forecasted for fiscal 2018/19 that 45 twenty -
foot containers will be exported overseas for pr ocessing. The full -time equivalents for the Ha zardous
Waste Section are six. This is the same as the est imate for fiscal 2018/19.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92029, Collections, is $3,677,000, which is a decrease of $742,000 when compared to the original fiscal 2018/19. The decrease is anticipated through
reduced overtime to the one- day-a-week collection.
The performance measure for cost centre 92029, Collections, indicates that, on average, 421 tons of domestic waste continues to be collected during the
week. The full -time equivalents for the cost centre are
59.
Madam Chairman, the Tynes Bay Waste to
Energy Facility provides refuse disposal and renew able energy for the country. It is anticipated that during
fiscal 2018/19 [sic] that there will be 20 tours of the
facility, as indicated in the performance measure for
cost centre 92016. That is located on page B -239.
The facility is also forecasting that there will be no
complaints from the members of the public from the
public drop- off facility. And the number of employed
power engineers has remained at 16 compared to last
year.
The budget for cost centre 92016, Tynes Bay
Administration, is $574,000 and represents an i ncrease of $32,000 from the 2018/19 budget. The full -
time equivalents for the Tynes Bay Administration
section are five.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92017, Tynes Bay Operations, is $4,802,000 repr esenting an increase of $68,000 from the original
2018/19 budget. The performance measure for cost
centre 92017, Tynes Bay Operation, anticipates that
70,000 tons’ wor th of solid waste will be treated at the
Tynes Bay Waste- to-Energy Facility during fiscal
2018/19. This is an increase of 5,000 tons from the original forecast. The amount of electricity generated
and sold to BELCO is forecasted to be 25,000 kil owatt-hours in 2018/19. This is a reduction from the
estimate due to non- turbine -related steam losses wit hin the plant, due to ageing auxiliary equipment now
due for replacement. Madam Chairman, the revised forecast for the
amounts of ash concrete the facility produces is 7,000
cubic yards. This is an increase over last year due to
the additional three new cement trucks acquired in
January of 2017. The full -time equivalents for Tynes
Bay operation are 31, the same as the previous fiscal
year, or 2018/19.
Madam Chair man, the budget for cost centre
92018, Tynes Bay Maintenance, is $2,193,000, a de-crease of $133,000 from the original fiscal 2018/19.
The performance measure for cost centre 92018, Tynes Bay Maintenance, indicates that the availability
of the plant is forecast to be 90 per cent for stream 1,
90 per cent for stream 2 and 95 per cent for the turbine, respectively, for fiscal 2018/19. The full -time
equivalents for Tynes Bay Maintenance remain the same at 16.
I will now move to programmes 8204, Quarry
Transpor t; and 8205, Quarry Products, on page B -
235. Madam Chairman, the mandate of the two quarry
programmes is, collectively, (1) to manage the fleet
and equipment leasing, mechanical maintenance, quarry operations; and (2) to act as the government
functional authority on all matters related to the fleet
management, vehicle and other mechanical engineering and maintenance activities.
Programme 8204, Quarry Transport, has a
budget of $2,484,000, representing an increase of $6,000 as compared to the original 2018/ 19. The
budget for cost centre 92019, Quarry Administration,
is $595,000, representing an increase of $9,000 from
the original fiscal 2018/19. The full -time equivalents
for Quarry Administration remain at two.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92020, Quarry Vehicle and Equipment Operation is
$2,573,000, which has decreased by $189,000 from
the original 2018/19. The performance measure for cost centre 92020, Quarry Vehicle and Equipment
Operation forecasted in fiscal 2018/19 that 14 per cent of the government fleet would remain out of operation.
Full-time equivalents for the cost centre 92020, Quarry Vehicle and Equipment Operation, are 30.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92021, Quarry Vehicles and Equipment Maintenance, is $4,816,000, w hich is an increase of $186,000. The
full-time equivalents for the cost centre 92021, Quarry
Vehicles and Equipment Maintenance, are 49.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92034, Quarry Receipts, an internal, recharged budget with a negative value, is set for $5,500,000 and is
the same as for fiscal 2018/19.
Madam Chairman, a $2,177,000 budget is in
place for programme 8205, Quarry Products, and a
$3,140,000 rechargeable budget for Quarry Products
has been allocated to this programme. The performance measure for cost centre 92023, Asphalt Plant,
shows that unplanned down time on the plant was 100
hours. Only 7,500 tons out of a projected 11,500 tons
of asphalt is anticipated for fiscal 2018/19. This is due


Bermuda Senate to less asphalt demand as a result of bud get co nstraints. The full -time equivalents for the asphalt plant
remain unchanged at seven.
Programme 8206, Water and Sewage, is on
page B -236. Their mandate, Madam Chairman, is to
provide planning, design, construction, operation and
maintenance of the g overnment water extraction,
treatment and distribution systems, and the
wastewater collection and distribution systems; to
produce potable water on a cost -recovery basis to
meet demand; to provide septage receiving facilities
for private sanitation trucker s and for limited public
facilities; and to act as the government functional authority on all matters related to water and wastewater
engineering. Madam Chairman, a $5,174,000 budget has been allocated to this programme. This repr esents an increase of $52, 000 as compared to the ori ginal 2018/19 budget.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92025, Water and Sewage Administration, is $1,056,000, which represents an increase of $31,000 as compared to the original 2018/19 budget. The performance measure f or cost centre 92025, Water and
Sewage Administration, indicates that there are for ecasted to be 1,060 metred customers for fiscal 2018/19, which is below estimate. The administration
area within this section has so far achieved 95 per cent response within 24 hours to inquiries by customers during fiscal 2018/19. Madam Chairman, the full -
time equivalents for the cost centre, Water and Se wage Administration, are five. And that is found on page
B-237.
The budget for cost centre 92026, Water
Supply and Treatm ent, is $2,771,000, which is a decrease of $46,000. This budget ensures that there are
sufficient funds allocated to pay for contractors who
supply supplementary bulk water, remote monitoring
and control system support, and to pay for the electricity charg es associated with water treatment plants
within the infrastructure. Madam Chairman, the per-formance measure for cost centre 92026, Water Supply and Treatment, on page B -240, forecasted that
260 million gallons of potable water will be produced
during this fiscal 2018/19. The full -time equivalents for
the cost centre 92026, Water Supply and Treatment, are nine.
Madam Chairman, the budget for cost centre
92027, Water Storage and Distribution, is $919,000,
which represents an increase of $75,000, to address
an anticipated increase in mains breakage due to the
age of the distribution network, which is slowly being
upgraded. Madam Chairman, the performance meas-ure for cost centre 92027, Water Storage and Distrib ution, is forecasted for fiscal 2018/19 that the a verage
lost service hours due to a mains break is 48 hours, which is in line with the target. The number of mains repairs made for the year was 23. Madam Chairman,
the full -time equivalents for the cost centre, Water
Storage and Distribution, are nine. The budget for cost centre 92028, Sewage
Collection, is $428,000 and has been decreased by
$8,000. Madam Chairman, the performance measure
for cost centre 92028 is the amount of time, as a percentage, that the Tynes Bay receiving facility is oper ational. For 2018/19, this figure was 98 per cent. The
performance measure also tracks the number of
blockages experienced in sewer mains across the
Island. That number was . . . I am not sure if it was 15
or 10. It seems that we have got both here, in my
brief. Whichever the number is correct, it was below the estimate.

[Laughter]

I think the correct number is 10.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Yes.
The full -time equivalents for the cost centre,
92028, Water Sewage and Distribution, is one.
Madam Chairman, t otal staffing levels within
the Department of Works and Engineering are shown
on page B -237. Employee number estimates for the
2019/20 budget are 344.
Madam Chairman, I will now provide Members of the Senate with a summary of the status of the
major capit al projects being managed by the Depar tment of Works and Engineering. The overall 2019/20 capital expenditure plan for the Department of Works
and Engineering is $13,731,000. Details are found on
page C -6 of the Approved Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditur e.
The Swing Bridge refurbishment, cost centre
75096. Madam Chairman, the 2019/20 estimate for
this cost centre is $2,500,000. This budget will be
used to continue feasibility and engineering design
work to facilitate the construction of a new crossing.
Plans and specifications will be completed by the end
of this year for the Swing Bridge and Longbird Bridge.
Roadworks, cost centre 75042. The estimate
for this cost centre is $1,500,000. This budget comprises major maintenance work to the road network,
which includes road resurfacing, as well as road i mprovement schemes such as junction improvements, road widening and new sidewalks. With the reduced funding, only emergency repair works are planned for
2019/20.
Water Projects, cost centre 75044. Madam
Chairman, this programme is for planned and unfor eseen small to medium water and sewage projects,
including a requirement every year to provide equi pment and general facility upgrading to meet ongoing
treatment to environmental - and safety -related issues.
The 2018/19 estimate for this cost centre is $270,000.
This funding will primarily be used for an advance m etering system to reduce a non- revenue water [loss]
through early leak detection.
Madam Chairman, Water Sewage Capital
Maintenance, cost centre 75345. T his new line item
416 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate will be used for various system refurbishments as r equired by the ageing plant and infrastructure. Essentially, the new CP was created for better tracking and
asset management. The 2018/19 estimate for this
cost centre is $447,000.
Improv ements to Street Lighting, cost centre
75046. Madam Chairman, the estimate for this cost
centre is $560,000. This budget is used to cover ongoing LED modernisation projects currently being delivered by BELCO.
Bus Shelters, cost centre 75048. Madam
Chairman, the 2019/20 estimate for this cost centre is
zero. This budget was reduced as a cost -saving
measure.
Private Roads Street Lighting, cost centre
75051, has a budget of $25,000. This budget will, as in previous years, be used to provide extra lighting on
private roads, which can help with the safety of an
area.
St. George’s Sewage Plant, cost centre
75061, has a budget of $500,000. And this budget supports implementation of the previous St. George’s
water and wastewater plant, which has been expended to inc lude the greater Island. The majority of the
funding will be used for further study and implement ation.
Asbestos disposal, cost centre 75064. Madam
Chairman, the 2019/20 estimate for this cost centre is
$500,000, which will be used to continue the repac king of containers that have deteriorated too far at the
Government Quarry, and also to ship adequately packed materials to the United States for permanent
disposal.
Madam Chairman, Structural Refurbishment
of Bridges, cost centre 75116, has an estimate of
$500,000. This budget will be used to carry out essential repair work on Watford Bridge, as well as the survey of all bridges across the Island.
Refurbishment of Ferry Docks and Public
Lands, cost centre 75117, has an estimate of
$1,850,000, which will be us ed to carry out maint enance on several docks around the Island, including
Heritage Wharf and the Hamilton Ferry dock.
Reconstruction of Retaining Walls has a zero
budget. No work is planned for this initiative during the upcoming year, due to cost reduction.

Okay. Thank you.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Stabilise Roadside Rock
Cuts, cost centre 75142, has a budget of $200,000.
The area slated for stabilisation is along the Railway
Trails near the Winton Hill area in Hamilton Parish.
Foreshore Protection Work, cost centre
75144. Madam Chairman, the cost centre is used to
carry out repairs and mitigating measures to the for eshore. The 2018/19 estimate for this budget is
$500,000 to address critical areas of North Shore
Road.
Causeway Refurbishment, cost centre 75207,
has an estim ate of $500,000. This funding will enable
the Ministry to carry out further work to fix critical undermining of the structure which was identified by a
survey performed earlier this year.
Tynes Bay Waste Treatment Expansion, cost
centre 75210. Madam Chair man, capital funding for
the fiscal 2019/20 is $100,000. These funds will be
used to carry out further feasibility studies for future
plan expansion and retrofits.
Dangerous Walls and Rock Cuts, Highways.
Madam Chairman, the 2019/20 estimate for this cost
centre is $250,000. This cost centre is used to carry
out repairs to collapsed walls and rock cuts. Additionally, as most cases of this damage occurs due to v ehicle accidents, the government will increasingly be
seeking insurance coverage from the vehicle owners
to pay for damage.
Quarry Refurbishment. Madam Chairman, the
2019/20 estimate for this cost centre is $100,000,
which will be used to fund upgrades at the quarry depot. Two new buildings have been added to the site, which were relocated from Morga n’s Point, the former
Artemis Building.
Pembroke Canal Upgrade. Madam Chairman,
this programme is for the upgrade of the Pembroke
Canal. And the 2019/20 estimate is $150,000.
The Reverse Osmosis Plant’s Electrical Sy stems. Madam Chairman, this programme has been created for the needed upgrade of all electrical control
and remote monitoring systems in each of the water
facilities. And the 2019/20 budget for this is $250,000.
Tynes Bay Capital Maintenance. Madam
Chairman, the 2019/20 estimated total cost for this
cost centre is $1 million and will be used for the purchase and installation of a new ash- handling crane.
Morgan’s Point Works, cost centre 75324, has
a budget of $50,000. These funds will be used to a ddress any further contamination discovered during the
Morgan’s Point site development.
Solid Waste Capital Maintenance, cost centre
75043. Madam Chairman, the 2019/20 estimate for this cost centre is $400,000. It will be primarily to r eplace ageing equipment and infrastructure at four
sites—special wast e in Sally Port, recycling at the
Government Quarry, composting at Marsh Folly and the land reclamation at the Airport Waste Manage-ment Facility.


Bermuda Senate Madam Chairman, I would like to provide you
with a summary of the status of the major acquisitions
being managed by the Department of Works and E ngineering, the details of which can be found on pages C-12 and C -13 of the Approved Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure 2019/20.
Under Quarry Vehicles and Equipment, cost
centre 76495, Madam Chairman, the vehicles and equipment to be replaced under the 2019/20 budget
are those that have surpassed useful economic life and are in poor and/or dangerous condition. The focus for next year will be the replacement of essential
heavy equipment such as payloaders, millers and
crane trucks that are essential to the Ministry’s road
maintenance and cleaning services. The 2019/20 estimate for this annual allocation is $2 million.
And with that, I thank you, Madam Chairman,
and that concludes my presentation on the Depar tment of Publi c Works.

Okay. Senator Robinson.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Okay. So, just looking at
line item here 46111, under heading, Office Admi nistration.
Sen. Vance Campbel l: Are we on 213?
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: On page B -215. Sen. Vance Campbell: Page B -215.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Some of these questions
might have been in your brief. But I just want to ask
for clarification, as well. We have here a very large jump from t he 2017/18 actual. So, I was just wondering if I can get just a concise answer as to the budge ted increase here to the 2017/18 original estimate and the 2018/19 revised estimate.

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, would that
not have for med part of last year’s budget debate? It
is a point of order; are we not here discussing
2019/20?

Okay. That is okay.
Would any other S enator like to speak?
Senator Jones.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam Chairman.
I just wanted to offer a point of clarity.
Through the course of the debates for this budget,
from most of the heads that have been debated and
discussed, there has been a just ified reason to go
back to 2017/18 numbers. One of the main reasons is
because they are actual numbers. They are not numbers that are budgeted, they are actually hardened
stone. And so, once trying to justify the numbers of this present year that we are in and launching into the
year to come, I believe that there is relevance and
importance in at least referring to the numbers in
2017/18.

Okay. Senator Jones, that is a point.
But we have to link it to the current year and the year
going forward. Thank you.
418 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Would any other Senator like to speak?
Senator Jardine, you have the floor.

Sen. James S. Jardine: Madam Chairman, I have
quite a few questions, and I do not want to take up the
time that the Opposition may wish to ask questions.
So, I am going to perhaps defer until they finish their
questions first. And then, any time remaining that
gives an opportunity for Senator Campbell to answer,
I will jump in, if you are happy with that.

Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Senator Robinson, back to you.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Okay. I would like to r ephrase my question then, Madam Chairman.
I would like the increase explained from the
2018/19 original to the 2018/ 19 revised, because, as
we can see here, it was an overshoot. And I just
would like to know . . . why that increase ?

Yes.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I was wondering at this one
here, under Transport, in the current account est imate, what caused the reduced spending here, as
well? So, we have the original estimate here, that’s at
$200,019. And the revised estimate is $84,000. So, I am just wondering if we are using cost -saving
measures here? Or just what was the cause of that
reduction?

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, point of
clarification.

Thank yo u, Senator Robinson.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you.
Also, looking at Salaries and Wages in that
same section, we have the salaries and wages i ncreased even though the employees have decreased
over here in the full -time equivalents. So, I am just
wonder ing what would be the cause of that? That
might have been covered in the brief, but I just would
like to know the cause of that.
And, since we are over in the full -time equiv alents, I would like to look at line item 46118. I heard an emphasis on training and a lot of training initiatives
being said in the brief regarding this particular head.
However, I noticed that there is only one full -time
equivalent in employment under Training and Deve lopment. So, I was just wondering if that is sufficient to keep up with all of these training initiatives, going forward. And I also see that there is no intent to hire anybody else in that section in 2019/20.
Now, heading back over to expenditure, we
have other expenses.

Okay.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Looking at Professional
Services, I was wondering if the consultant that was
listed for the Minister of Public Works is listed in this
item, or is the consultant listed under Salaries? I just
want that clarification for myself.
Jumping down to Materials and Supplies, still
on the same page B -216, I am just wondering if we
become a bit more efficient here, learning to work a bit
less, or is there an adequate surplus of materials to
explain why the revised 2018/19 budget has come so
far underneath the original 2018/19 estimate, Madam
Chairman?
Okay. I am just going to skip ahead here to
the Housing Corporation. So, that is page B -223.

Yes.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I saw that there was no i ncrease to any of the grants and contributions. And I
heard a lot of housing projects, including the Grand
Atlantic work, being mentioned underneath there. I
just wanted to know if the current grants and contributions are adequate enough to sustain all of those add itional workloads and whether or not we require more
funding there.
I also was wondering if there was a precise
breakdown, Madam Chairman, of the grants and co ntributions provided to the quangos so that we can see how those cost centres are being broken down. I
know that they were mentioned briefly in the brief. But
it would be nice to be able to see that in the budget, a
slight breakdown of exactly how these grants and contributions spread out over to the quango s.
Performance measures. There were a lot of
great initiatives listed underneath the Housing Corporation, and I was just wondering if maybe there could
be an inclusion of performance measures so that we could have a bit of insight as to how successful these
particular initiatives are and how we can improve
them, and whether or not they are operating as successfully as they could be.
So, heading over now to Parks.

—for the questions and responses.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes. I am t rying to get the
pertinent questions done here.
Okay. Page B -226, under line item Travel, I
was wondering what the increase was here. But now
that we cannot refer to the . . . Well, I was just wondering what the increase here was from the 2017/18
actual. We had a large increase between the 2018/19
original and the revised. So, I was just wondering
what the cause of this travel increase was, and how is
it pertinent to the operation of parks, Madam Chai rman.
Okay. Line item under materials and supplies,
we have a 2018/19 revised estimate that shows a
$28,000 increase from the original. What is the cause
of this increase? Because in one line item , we went a
bit low on supplies, and then this line item was going a
bit high.

[Pause]
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: So, I am just going to jump
to Head 82, on page B -235.

Yes.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: So, under engineering, we
had line item 92002, Electrical Support. And we have
an overspend here in the revised 2018/19 estimate compared to the 2018/19 original. And then, we see
that the same $50,004 is estimated in 2019/20. So, I
am just wondering if this overspend was accounted for
or w hether or not it was not accounted for, Madam
Chairman.
I just believe those are all of my pertinent
questions.

Okay. Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you.

420 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The Chairman: May I suggest that Senator Campbell
respond to the questions at this point? Because there
are only 12.5 minutes left.
Senator Jardine, I know you have some questions.

Sen. James S. Jardine: Madam Chairman, I am quite
happy to leave my questions. I had quite a lot of questions. And I am happy to r aise them with Senator
Campbell after the session.

Okay. Thank you.
Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: The first questions I would
like to address are concerning the Bermuda Housing
Corporation. Madam Chairman, quangos are not us ually required to produce performance measures. They
answer to a board, and, in turn, the board provides
annual reports to the Legislature. So, that information
can be obtained . . . the questions from the Senator,
the information, the answers can be obtained fr om
those annual reports.

Thank you.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, Senator
Robinson had questions about the decrease in staf fing cost within the Parks. I believe it is on page B -225,
where the original 2018/19, the revised is reduced. I
believe that was the question. The 2018/19 revised
was reduced from the original. And the Parks Depar tment is actively working to fill posts to bring them up
to full strength.

Senator Campbell is just having a
quick consult with one of t he technical officers. And I
am sure that we will get a response to the next question in a minute.

[Pause]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, I believe
Senator Robinson had a question on HR. I am trying
to see where that question is on my paper. Coul d I
ask for clarification from the Senator?

For the listening audience, we are
just awaiting a response. Senator Campbell is consul ting.

[Pause]

Sen. Vance Campb ell: Madam Chairman, there was
a question on Other Expenses. These are expenses
such as lawn service, gifts and team -building activ ities. I believe the Senator had a question as to what
they were and why there was a decrease. And the
reason for the decreas e was that the team -building
exercises were cancelled. They did not happen. So, that is why there was the decrease.

[Pause]

Sen. Vance Campbell: There was a question from
the Senator regarding the decrease in transport costs.
And that was the result of those costs being moved to
the quarry operations for vehicle maintenance.

Okay, yes. Cost centre 92002, Electrical Support .

Sen. Vance Campbell: And that increase was due to
internal costs for project management of the ongoing
LED lighting replacement contract that was not bud gBermuda Senate eted for the previous year. And the new budget accounts for both the project management cost and the
projected decrease in overall costs due to less energy
usage from the continued replacement of LED lights.

We will let you shuffle your papers,
catch your breath.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Get some water. The Chairman: Yes. And we are beginning on page
B-116.

HEAD 10 —HEADQUARTERS

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, the
2019/20 budget estimates for the Ministry of Finance
Headquarters, Head 10, may be found in section of
the Estimate Book on pages B -116 through B -119;
and in section C on pages C -4, Capital Purchases,
and C -10, Capital Acquisitions; and in C -16, Grants.
The Finance Ministry, Madam Chairman,
comp rises six departments led by Ministry of Finance
Headquarters, and includes the Accountant General,
Customs Revenue, Social Insurance, the Office of the
Tax Commissioner, and Registrar of Companies. All ocations to cover the interest on government debt and contributions to the Sinking Fund, which was cancelled this fiscal year, are also included in the Ministry
of Finance budget.
The Ministry has a total staffing establishment
of 157 posts and an aggregate current account budget
of $220.8 million, and is responsible for collecting
$974.2 million, or 87.1 per cent of all government revenue. A snapshot of key information for the Ministry of
Finance is shown on page B -115 of the estimates
book.
The department’s current account allocations
are as follows:
• Head 10, Ministry of Finance HQ, a budget
amount of $5,895,000, which is an increase of $845,000;
• Head 11, Accountant General, $86,153,000, a
decrease of $308,000;
• Head 12, Customs. The Customs budget has
been moved to the National Security Ministry.
The Minis try of Finance maintains responsibi lity for the Customs tariff and revenue collections;
• Head 28, Social Insurance, $4,825,000, a decrease of $425,000;
• Head 38, Office of the Tax Commissioner, with a budget of $3,761,000, an increase of
$310,000;
• Head 39, R egistrar of Companies, with a
budget of $3,709,000, which is an increase of $522,000;
• Head 58, Interest on Long- Term Debt,
$116,500,000, which is a decrease of
$7,500,000; and
• Head 59, Sinking Fund Contribution, zero dollars budgeted, a decrease of $64,233 ,000, as
the Sinking Fund was cancelled this fiscal
year.
Madam Chairman, the Minister in charge of
the finance portfolio is Minister of Finance, the Hon-ourable Curtis L. Dickinson, JP, MP, supported by
Junior Minister of Finance, the Honourable Wayne L.
Furbert, JP, MP.
422 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The executive and senior officials in the Mini stry of Finance HQ are Financial Secretary, Mr. Anthony Manders; Assistant Financial Secretary, Economics and Finance, Mr. Stephen Gift; Assistant Financial
Secretary, Regulatory Unit, Ms. Pam ela Burrows; A ssistant Financial Secretary, Treaty Management and
Administration, Mr. Wayne Brown; and Director of
Budget, Ms. Tina Tucker.
Madam Chairman, having the national Budget
Statement presented on Friday, February 22nd, was
the official start of the Budget Debate in the House of
Assembly. It gives me great pleasure to present the
budget for selected departments in the Ministry of F inance.
Madam Chairman, the Finance Ministry’s key
goals and objectives are to facilitate balanced ec onomic growth an d development, to provide strategic
direction and an overall framework for financial man-agement and control of government activities, and to
safeguard Bermuda’s economic interests in the face
of challenges and threats in the changing global
economy.
Detai led objectives or core functions are: (1)
to facilitate balanced economic growth and develo pment by development and diversification of the financial services sector by increasing investor confidence
to attract foreign direct investment, providing support for small businesses; (2) provide strategic direction
and an overall framework for financial management and control of government activities by optimising the
yield from government’s revenue base, assuring the
alignment of resource allocation, policy priori ties, inst ituting and adhering to the principles of prudent bud geting, using output and performance measures to evaluate programme expenditure; (3) safeguard Bermuda’s economic interests by meeting international
standards of financial supervision and regul ation, establishing and maintaining economic intelligence networks, and establishing and maintaining strategic economic alliances.
Madam Chairman, other key department objectives are as follows: to prepare, implement and closely monitor the national budget; to arrange all government borrowing requirements efficiently and at
the most competitive rates; to report on the country’s
economic performance to the public; to maintain effec-tive relations with credit -rating agencies; to oversee
and manage the public pension funds; to ensure and
support a fair, coherent and predictable development of financial services regulations; and to be proactive in
treaty negotiations with respect to tax information exchange agreements.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry’s core functions are discharged through six broad programme
areas:
• policy planning and management ;
• fiscal planning and control ;
• regulatory ;
• economic and financial intelligence; • treaty management and administration; and
• the Office of NMLAC .
In discharging its functions under the overall
policy direction of the Minister of Finance, the Ministry of Finance Headquarters seeks to achieve the follo wing outcomes: a Bermuda that maintains its position
as a domicile of choice for international business; a
Bermuda where citizens have confidence in gover nment stewardship of the public purse; a Bermuda
where funding and resources are available for key
programmes and initiatives; and a Bermuda where citizens regard government’s policy responses to ec onomic and financial challenges as appropriate and in the national interest.
Madam Chairman, in seeking to fulfil this
mandate, the Ministry of Finance Headquarters has a staff establishment of 19 permanent full -time posts,
and its total budget for 2019/20 is $5.895 million.
Madam Chai rman, ministerial restructuring
resulted in the transfer of the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission to the Ministry of Finance Headquar-ters. Following this transfer, the Ministry of Finance Headquarters budget allocation in 2019/20 is
$845,000, or 17 per cent , higher when compared to
the original estimate for 2018/19. This increase is pr imarily due to the following: transfer of . . . sorry. I b elieve that was 2017/18.
This increase is due to the following:
• transfer of the Bermuda Casino Gaming
Commi ssion to the Ministry Headquarters,
$500,000;
• a 2.0 per cent salary uplift and increased staff,
$160,000;
• maintenance of the new exchange of tax i nformation portal for the Treaty Unit of $95,000;
• increasing CARTAC contribution, $50,000;
• increase in overseas EU consultant costs,
$40,000; and
• increase in training for AML/ATF by the
NMLAC, $35,000.
And these amounts were offset by a reduction in subscriptions.
The budget for Ministry Headquarters includes
an operational element for each of the six programme
areas withi n Ministry Headquarters, plus grant funding
to the Pension Commission and Gaming Commission.
Madam Chairman, cost centre 20000, Policy
Planning and Management, has a $10,000 decrease to the budget allocation. Madam Chairman, the Policy
Planning and Management Unit provides overall direction and management of Ministry Headquarters and
supervisory oversight of the five departments in the
Ministry of Finance, namely, the Accountant General’s
Department, HM Customs Revenue, the Office of the Tax Commissioner, the Registrar of Companies and
the Department of Social Insurance.
In addition, this unit undertakes strategic
planning, administration and other activities associated with the daily operation of the Ministry of Finance


Bermuda Senate Headquarters. Information technolog y, financial and
administrative support, budget development, accounting, personnel and administration, and general office
administration are also included in this cost centre.
Finally, the unit also coordinates initiatives in econom-ic diplomacy and organis es the review and development of economic and financial policy.
The budget for this unit in 2019/20 is $1.215
million. This is $10,000 lower than last year. The
budget decrease reflects the removal of the funding
for the Assistant Financial Secretary, Pol icy position,
offset by an increase in the CARTAC contribution and
overseas professional services fees for relationship
management in Europe.
Madam Chairman, Senators are aware that in
2018, the Ministry was involved in continuing the r eform of our tax sy stem with the establishment of the
Tax Reform Commission. Also, the Ministry continued
with its mandate to boost international transparency
and credibility through the Fiscal Responsibility Panel
[FRP]. Senators will recall that the role of the Fiscal Responsibility Panel is to provide Bermuda’s Parli ament, Minister of Finance and Financial Policy Council with an annual published assessment of the territory’s
fiscal strategy, focusing on progress in meeting the
territory’s medium -term objectives for public spending,
taxation, borrowing and debt reduction.
Madam Chairman, the panel had meetings
with various institutions and individuals during the
course of its discussions in Bermuda during the period
November 19
th to 24th, 2018. During these discussions, the panel heard views about Bermuda’s ec onomic prospects, risks to those prospects and challenges in the short, medium and longer term. While the panel consulted many individuals and organis ations, it should be noted that they are an independent
panel and the judgments and recommendations made
are their own.
During the week of November 19, 2018, the
Fiscal Responsibility Panel visited the Island and met
with the Ministry of Finance and a wide cross section
of Bermuda society, and published its fourth report i n
December. This was the second report since the
change of Government and, importantly, provided an independent assessment of some of our policies.
Madam Chairman, it is pleasing to note that
the FRP wrote, “Securing faster growth. This is a ne cessary precondition for all other aims , including making effective progress in debt reduction. The gover nment’s aim of diversification away from reliance on insurance and tourism is sensible but will be easier
said than done: the island has few natural advantages. B ut compared with many island compet itors, Bermuda has a world -class legal and regulatory
structure. The focus on attracting new fintech bus iness is appropriate as long as care is taken not to at-tract activities that could carry severe reputational risk.” The FRP also noted the following: “Gover nment efficiency. We welcome the Government’s bot-tom-up approach to improving efficiency , moving r esources to priority areas and looking for ways to i mprove efficiency across Government, in particular by seeking to develop effective and linked- up IT. We recommend appointing a ‘champion’ (with possibly a
separate champion for improved IT) in the Cabinet Office or Finance Ministry to drive the process and be
held accountable for results.”
Madam Chairman, the Government shares
the FRP’s views in these areas of securing faster economic growth and improving government efficiency, which are two of the important cornerstones of the
2019/20 National Budget, along with our commitment
to begin reducing our debt next fiscal year .
Madam Chairman, I will now touch briefly on
tax reform. Senators will recall in the 2017 Throne Speech, this Government committed to creating a Tax
Reform Commission [TRC]. And as a result, the Tax
Reform Commission was formed under the Tax R eform Commi ssion Act 2017.
The purpose of the commission was to co nduct a review of Bermuda’s system of taxation and
revenue collection and make recommendations on tax
reform to Parliament. More specifically, the Tax R eform Commission was given the following mandate by
the Minister of Finance: (1) to examine Bermuda’s tax system and determine any measures that may be taken to best enable a system of taxation and revenue
collection that is equitable, effective, efficient, competitive and transparent; (2) increase publ ic sector
revenue yield from 17 per cent of GDP to a minimum
of 20 per cent to 22 per cent of GDP; and (3) prepare
and submit a report and recommendations in accor dance with section 7 of the Tax Reform Act.
Madam Chairman, a seven- member team
was assembled in order for the TRC to be able to carry out its duties, and the report was published on N ovember 17, 2018. The TRC determined that if the pr oposed tax policy recommendations, which include
suggestions for both tax increases and tax cuts, are
implemented, an additional yield of approximately $147 million could be generated over the next two- tothree- year period, increasing government revenue to
approximately $1.26 billion, 20 per cent of GDP, by 2020, compared with 17 per cent of GDP in 2017.
Madam Chair man, some of the more substantive proposed recommendations put forward by the commission included the following:
• a progressive tax on commercial and residential rentals, yielding an additional $41 million
in revenues;
• introducing a general service tax, yielding
$27.5 million in new revenues;
• introducing a withholding tax on overseas services provided locally, yielding $27.5 million in
new revenue; and
424 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate • aligning company fees with a company’s assessed capital, yielding an additional $25.5
million in revenue.
Madam Chairman, the Government closely
evaluated and then considered all recommendations
included in the report. And as per this Government’s
normal custom and practice, the appropriate consult ation with the various stakeholders was conducted before any major changes were made to our tax system.
Madam Chairman, tax reform is nothing new.
Senators may recall that the former Government engaged CARTAC to complete a review of Bermuda’s
tax system and its administration in 2015. The report was completed in Sept ember of 2015. Many stak eholders requested access to this document, but the former Government refused to share its contents. This
Government tabled the CARTAC review in Parliament
on the 6
th of October 2017 so that parliamentarians
and member of the community could be made aware
of the recommendations.
Madam Chairman, the report indicated that
the main objective of the tax review was to increase
tax revenues. The former Government’s preference
was to increase the revenue provided by the existing taxes, alt hough it was open to proposals that would
expand the tax base and improve equity.
The main goal of the reform was to increase
revenues by about $100 million to $150 million over a
three- year period. This Government did it in a transparent manner with the publication of the Tax Reform
Commission report, while the former Government did
it behind closed doors with no public scrutiny.
Senators are aware that the Government r eleased the pre- budget report in advance of this bud get, and the Policy Unit was heavi ly involved in the
publication of that report. The pre- budget report spoke
of the choices we face and discussed them in the con-text of the risks that we face. In addition, the report
contained some policy options that were under consideration by the Government.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry would like to
thank all stakeholders who provided submissions during the consultative pre- budget process. It is an example of the approach this Government will take to
ensure that we conduct our business in an open and
transparent manner.
This report was a tremendous success and
fully met its objective to provide greater transparency
and public participation in the budget process. In total, just over 50 submissions were received from the public, and the Ministry had numerous meetings with key
stakeholders, as well as one public town hall meeting.
This report assisted the Ministry in framing the 2019/20 budget, which by all accounts has been pos itively received by the public. It is the Ministry’s firm belief that the releasee of the pre- budget report was
one of the primary reasons for this positive feedback,
and we look forward to preparing and releasing the
pre-budget report for 2020/21. The largest share of the $1.2 million budget
for the Policy Unit is professional serv ices and sal aries. The salary provision for the Policy Unit is
$366,857. This covers three posts, including the F inancial Secretary and two administrative officers. The
Assistant Financial Secretary position is vacant and
unfunded. The funding for this pos t was transferred to
other units in HQ to cover the cost for increased staf fing requirements in those units.
Madam Chairman, changes are ongoing in
order to improve the way we approach the handling of
public money. The Policy Unit will continue to oversee
this transformation of the management of public financial management and will be involved in the following
projects in 2019/20:
• continue with the development of an open
budget structure to provide more transparency
in the budgeting process;
• continue to re- evaluate the Tax Reform
Commission to determine if any recommendations will be implemented;
• work with the Cabinet Office to roll out the
Government Reform Strategic Plan;
• work with the BCGC [Bermuda Casino Gam-ing Commission] to progress gaming in Ber-muda; and
• work with key business stakeholders to create
incentives for companies to increase jobs in
Bermuda by providing payroll tax relief for
new positions created—the Job Growth Stra tegy Programme.
Madam Chairman, I will conclude this snapshot of some of t he work that is carried out by the Po licy Unit within Ministry of Finance Headquarters by
noting that this unit is responsible for coordinating all of the legislative items that support the national budget. The process includes providing drafting instructions to the Attorney General’s Chambers for Bills,
Orders and Regulations; coordinating with other mi nistries where necessary; and preparing legislative
briefs to assist Ministers and Junior Ministers in steer-ing the legislative items through the approval process
in the Legislature. There were more than 14 items of
legislation associated with the 2019/20 National
Budget.
Madam Chairman, the Fiscal Planning and
Control Unit, or the Budget Team, is primarily respon-sible for the management, collection and col lation of
consolidated fund budget data, the monitoring and
control of overall government expenditures on both
capital account and current account and the achiev ement of government revenues. The unit is also tasked
with the responsibility of reviewing and developing the
government’s annual capital expenditure plan. The
budget for this unit in 2019/20 is $518,000, which is
$23,000 more than last year. The Budget Team pr ovides advice and guidance to department heads and
controllers on both the formulation of ministry budgets
and on budget monitoring and control.


Bermuda Senate The team provides two formal training sessions each year designed for ministry/departmental
staff who have responsibility for budget preparation
and/or budget monitoring and control. As part of the
budget monitoring and control exercises, all ministries and departments are required to review expenditure
performance and to confirm on a monthly basis their
current and capital account expenditure performance
with the Budget Office.
In November 2018, the Director of Budgets
attended a CARTAC regional workshop on fiscal risk management held in St. Kitts. This workshop is a part
of CARTAC’s commitment to strengthen the capacity
of its member countries’ efforts for a sound public
management system. The workshop covered several fiscal risk components, for example, identifying and
analysing the nature and main sources, managing
macro -economic risks, including continued liabilities,
government assets, guarantees, PPP’s, quangos,
natural disasters, monitoring and disclosure introduction of IMF, new fiscal stress test, developing a fiscal risk statement and implementing fiscal risk management frameworks. Many of the Government’s fiscal
risks were identified and disclosed in both the 2019/20
pre-budget and the Fiscal Responsibility Panel’s r eport.
Madam Chairman, the Government has a lready demonstrated its ability to prudently manage
expenditures, which can be seen in the revised current expenditure forecast. The projected 2018/19 operating expenses of the Government are $932 million,
a modest 0.3 per cent increase. This was despite the
2.0 per cent salary increase awarded to some public
officers in 2018/19. That, Madam Chairman, is a sign
that this Government will be prudent with the spending
of public funds.
Madam Chairman, during the finalisation of
budgeting packages for the 2019/20 budget cycle, ministries that had submitted their returns had r equested a total current and capital account appropri ation of $1.094 billion, some $100 million above the
Finance Ministr y’s original limit of $994 million. The
Budget Office worked closely with these ministries
and, after carefully considering the current level of
spending required to operate the government in its
current form and the various obligations of the go vernment, managed to reduce the total appropriation to
$991 million.
Controlling government expenditure has been
and still remains a focus of the Government. To this
end, the Government established an Efficiency Committee to review the functioning of all government d epartments and to recommend improvements in the
efficiency of operations. The Efficiency Committee
presented its report to the Minister in September 2018
and has highlighted how savings and greater effec-tiveness can be obtained by the Government in the
areas of financial assistance, purchasing of materials,
inventory management and handling of staff vacan-cies. Looking forward, the Efficiency Committee also
emphasised the importance of developing a detailed
overall strategic plan to guide spending priorit ies of
the Government over the medium to long term, as critical.
This Government has already . . . (Excuse
me, Madam Chairman.)

You will get there. But you have
backup, so do not worry.
Sen. Vance Campbell: The Government has already
implemented some of the recommendations of the
Efficiency Committee and is carefully considering and
quantifying others in advance of the 2019/20 budget cycle.
Madam Chairman, in order to determine highpriority policy programmes, the Budget Office will rei ntroduce zero- based budgeting in the upcoming fiscal
year. Policy prioritisation at the start of the budget proces s will facilitate a better alignment of the alloc ation of limited resources with Government’s overall
policy initiatives and objectives. Zero- based budgeting
is a method of budgeting in which all expenditures
must be justified, along with a systematic revi ew of the
performance of current programmes.
The fundamental aim of zero- based budgeting
is to reflect the current and proposed future pr ogrammes and services required by the Government’s
national plan. This budget process allows the Go vernment to examine methods for allocating limited
resources in order to identify the most efficient and
effective methods for utilisation of resources in the
achievement of specific goals and targets.
A salary provision of $412,190 accounts for
83 per cent of the Budget Team’s allocation for
2019/20. The provision covers the posts of Director of
Budget, Principal Budget Officer, Budget Officer and Budget Assistant. For the fiscal year 2019/20, the department has set objectives to
• provide support for the open budget process,
enhanced by the monitoring and reporting to Cabinet;
• provide support to the Efficiency Team, which
will continue to scrutinise spending across all
individual departments and formulate action
plans to increase efficiencies, thus reducing
future costs;
• re-introduce zero- based budgeting; and
• bring all supplementary appropriations cur-rent.
426 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The Regulatory Unit, cost centre 20020, sees
an increase of $120,000. The budget for this unit in
2019/20 is $436,000, an increase of $120,000. The
Regulatory Unit is the l ead policy division within the
Ministry of Finance Headquarters in relation to the
Financial Services sector. The Regulatory Unit is accountable to the Financial Secretary for the effective
discharge of the Unit’s function and, through the
Premier and Mini ster of Finance, to Cabinet and Parliament. The head of the Unit, the Assistant Financial Secretary -Regulations, carries out the Minister’s f inancial services policies through the Ministry of F inance, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Attorney
General’s Chambers, the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee, the Bermuda Public Accountability
Board and specialist global partners.
The Regulatory Unit operates in response to a
broad range of opportunities and risks, which allows
the Ministry to contribute a ctively to a continuous flow
of information on potential threats and opportunities to
Bermuda and its reputation. These opportunities and risks are constantly changing. The Regulatory Unit’s
planned response to these challenges through various
goals focuses on advancing the Unit’s priorities and
reflecting the outcomes that the people of Bermuda
deserve.
These goals are to (1) ensure and support the
fair, impartial, efficient and transparent development of regulation at the national and international levels;
(2) strengthen capacity to secure regulatory solutions
to economic security issues; and (3) strengthen public
diplomacy and support bilateral and multilateral engagement.
The Regulatory Unit is involved in virtually
every policy and management area, f rom regulatory
reform and financial stability to anti -money laundering
and trade and development issues at home and abroad. The scope of the Regulatory Unit’s activities
are as follows:
• to support the Minister of Finance and the F inancial Secretary in coor dinating the financial
services regulatory policy initiatives of the
Government;
• to oversee the Ministry of Finance component
of the financial services legislative pr ogramme, together with the Bermuda Monetary
Authority and the Ministry of Legal Affairs;
• to provide policy advice to the Financial Secretary and the Minister of Finance on anti -
money laundering policy initiatives, together
with the National Anti -Money Laundering
Committee, pursuant to section 49 of the Pr oceeds of Crime Act 1997;
• to provide policy advice to the Minister of F inance and the Financial Secretary on matters
related to the regulatory component of financial services and audit directives issued by the
European Union, together with the Cabinet Office, the Brussels office, the London o ffice
and EU specialists; and
• to provide policy advice to the Insurance A dvisory Committee on matters related to the i nsurance sector.
In this environment of declining resources, the
Regulatory Unit is uniquely positioned at the intersection of the financi al services industry, regulatory and
law enforcement agency, as well as domestic and global partners. The unit is able to network these var-ied perspectives to bring a comprehensive insight into
the development and protection of our economic s ecurity. This unique position allows the unit to develop
and support multiple partnerships that have a broad
domestic and international impact. In order to achieve
its priorities, and pursuant to the Ministry of Finance
legislative agenda, the Bermuda Monetary Authority
business plan, the Ministry of Finance EU engag ement strategy and the National Anti -Money Laundering strategy, the Unit will undertake the following key
strategic ownership goals in 2019/20, as follows:
Matters related to the European Union.

[Noise from electronic device]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, I assure
you, that is not the plan.

[Laughter]

I would just like to welcome the Junior
Minister of Finance, Mr. Wayne Furbert, to the Chamber, and also the Financial Secretary, Mr. Anthony
Manders.
Gentlemen, you are both very welcome.

[Committee of Supply, continuing]
Sen. Vance Campbell: Matters related to the Eur opean Union. The Unit’s goal is to lead efforts to coor-dinate Bermuda’s compliance with the European U nion audit directive, together with the Bermuda Public
Accountability Board. This work includes the compl etion of the European Commission’s 2018 technical
review of Bermuda’s audit framework.
The Unit will work with the Assistant Financial
Secretary on treaties to coordinate the Finance Mini stry’s response to the EU Code of Conduct Group’s
work on developing a common EU list of noncooper aBermuda Senate tive tax jurisdictions. This includes providing technol ogy and strategic advice on all aspects of Bermuda’s
corporate and regulatory framework.
The Unit will work with the Financi al Secretary
in the Treaty Unit to complete and coordinate the Mi nistry of Finance EU engagement strategy, together
with the Cabinet Office, the Bermuda Monetary A uthority, the Brussels office and EU counsel. This will
include preparation for annual visits by the Minister of
Finance to meet with key EU stakeholders. This work also includes working with public and private sector stakeholders, participation in strategy sessions and
expansion of the analytical support efforts to public
and private sector stakeholders.
Matters related to the Financial Action Task
Force standards. The Unit’s goal is to contribute to
and support the implementation of Bermuda’s Anti -
Money Laundering strategy, together with the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee. This work i ncludes the provision of strategic and policy advice, as
well as the completion of various technical effectiv eness and risk assessments. This work also includes
preparation for the next phase of Bermuda’s AML/ATF
assessment in 2019.
To maintain momentum, t he Assistant Financial Secretary of the Regulatory Unit was appointed to the NMLAC CFATF Assessment Task Force, with ef-fect from August 2017. The Assistant Financial Secr etary will continue to represent the Ministry of Finance on the following NMLAC commit tees:
• the Legislation Committee;
• the National Threats and National Vulnerabil ities Committee;
• the Supervisory Committee;
• the Sanctions Committee; and
• the Proliferation Committee.
[The Unit will ] work with the Ministry of F inance Teams, the Bermuda Monetary Authority and
the Cab inet Office on matters related to transparency
and beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal
arrangements.
Madam Chairman, matters related to the
United Kingdom. The Unit will work with the Cabinet
Office on matters related to Brexit and the Financial
Services sector, together with the Bermuda Monetary
Authority and specialist partners. This work includes the provision of tactical and strategic advice on matters related to equivalence in a post -Brexit enviro nment.
The Unit will work with the Ministry of Finance
team, the Ministry of Economic Development, the
Bermuda Monetary Authority, NMLAC and the London office on matters related to the implementation of the
exchange of notes between the Government of the
United Kingdom and th e Government of Bermuda,
irrespective of the sharing of beneficial ownership i nformation on a by -request basis, dated 9
th of April
2016. This work includes amendments to the benef icial ownership framework as required. The Unit will work with the Ministry of Finance
team, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, NMLAC and
the London office on matters related to the commi tment given by the Government of Bermuda to the Chancellor of the Exchequer dated 9
th of May 2016, to
exchange beneficial ownership information on an automatic basis. This work includes the provision of
technical and strategic advice on the development of
a global standard by the G20.
Matters related to the Organisation for Ec onomic Cooperation and Development (the OECD). The Unit will work with the Treaty Unit to coordinate
the response of the Ministry of Finance to the 2016
OECD exchange of information peer review of Be rmuda. This includes providing technical and strategic
advice on all aspects of Bermuda’s corporate and
regulatory framework. This also includes participation
in onsite and offsite meetings with the OECD, together with the private sector, NMLAC and the Bermuda
Monetary Authority.
Matters related to the United States of Amer ica. The Unit will work with the Cabinet Office to enhance the Bermuda– US engagement strategy. This
work includes the provision of technical and strategic
advice on matters related to financial services.
The list of international commitments may
seem daunting, but they are critical to maintaining a
strong reputation. In 2018 and 2019, the Regulatory
Unit was primarily focused on matters related to ben eficial ownership and transparency, tax transparency,
together with the matters related to Bermuda’s C AFATF AML/ATF assessment and economic substance. Additional mileston es achieved by the Regul atory Unit, 2018/19, include completion of the Ministry of Finance component of 17 regulatory and development policy initiatives in the areas of financial services, FinTech, anti -money laundering and economic
substance; completion of training in advance of pr oject management, FATF standards and OECD ec onomic substance requirements.
The Regulatory Unit serves seven different
markets with different dynamics. With this bac kground, the Unit has consistently demonstrated its
capacity to m anage across functions and encourage
colleagues and stakeholders to unify around common goals. The Unit’s primary role forward in the next year will be to continue to work with NMLAC agencies and
the Treaty Unit to meet Bermuda’s international commitments.
Madam Chairman, Bermuda faces a number
of external tax and regulatory threats. These threats pose a real and present danger to our economy. During the upcoming year, additional funds have been
provided to the Regulatory Unit to hire a policy advisor
in or der to protect our economic security. A salary
provision of $357,094 accounts for 83 per cent of the
Regulatory Unit’s allocation for 2019/20 which covers
three posts, including the Assistant Financial Secr e428 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate tary, Regulatory Unit, a post advisor, and one admi nistrative officer.
Economic and Financial Intelligence, 20030,
shows a decrease of $47,000. Madam Chairman, the
Economic and Financial Intelligence Unit provides research and analysis of economic and financial co nditions to help facilitate sound decisi ons on public policy and fiscal management. Responsibilities of the staff in the Unit include economic forecasts, economic
modelling, projections of GDP and the development of
key economic indicators. Analysis and commentary on economic and financial stati stics are provided in an
annual . . . [
coughing]

Please continue, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Analysis and commentary on
economic and financial statistics are provided, and an
annual and mid- year review and outlook are pr oduced. The budget for this Unit in 2019/20 is
$422,344, which is $47,000 less than the budget all ocation for 2018/19.
Madam Chairman, the Unit also manages the
relationship with credit rating agencies and is responsible for government debt management policy. Madam Chairman, the Unit constantly r eviews our debt
management policy in order to take advantage of f avourable market conditions. When financing the def icit, the Ministry’s most important objective is to pr ovide the Government with stable financing at minimal costs under the prevailing market conditions. The
Economic and Financial Intelligence Unit therefore
maintains relationships with both domestic and international banks in order to be kept abreast of capital
market developments. It will provide an opportunity to either refinance current government debt at less ex-pensive rates and/or provide the best opportunity in
which to finance the current year’s fiscal deficit.
As mentioned in the 2019/20 budget, Government will not incur new borrowing, as there will be
a fiscal surplus. However, the Unit will work with f inancial institutions to determine if it makes sense to
refinance current government debt at a lower interest
rate.
Madam Chairman, the Unit also provides advice to various government boards and is closely i nvolved in the administrat ion of numerous Customs
duty relief regimes, includ ing duty relief provided to
hotels, restaurants and retailers. In addition, this Unit oversees the public pension funds, along with the
Bermuda Public Funds Investment Committee.
Madam Chairman, the inves tments of the
Public Sector Pension Plans continue to perform well. I can report that, as of December 31
st, 2018, the contributory pension fund [CPF] assets totalled $1.767
billion versus $1.898 billion in 2017. Meanwhile, the
public service superannuation fund [PSSF] assets
totalled $575.9 million in 2018 versus $622.1 million in
2017. For 2018, the contributory and superannuation
plans posted returns of 3.0 per cent and minus -2.2 per
cent, respectively. The contributory pension fund
trailed the policy index by 0.6 per cent, while the s uperannuation fund exceeded the policy index by 0.3
per cent. Three- through ten- year returns for the funds
all outperformed the actuarial required rates of return. In the short term, the CPF and the PSSF are in good
financia l shape. As at December 31
st, 2018, the CPF
total assets represented approximately 11.1 times the
annual value of benefits to be paid in the fiscal year,
while the PSSF assets represented approximately 7.2 times the annual value of benefits.
Madam Chairma n, economic diversification in
the Bermuda context can be defined as the process of shifting the economy away from a dual -income source
to multiple sources from a growing range of sectors and markets. The importance of diversifying the local economy is to encourage positive economic growth
and development. In a nutshell, economic diversific ation increases the resilience of an economy. In the Minister’s Budget Statement, he outlined the cha llenges we face as a country and how these challenges, which emanate from both international and d omestic sources, can pose significant risk to our economy if not managed judiciously. With this in mind, the
Economic and Financial Intelligence Unit will continue
to work with various stakeholders on legislation that
will facilitate the expansion of the banking sector.
Having in 2018 made amendments to the
Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999, allowing for
different licenc es and classes of banks to facilitate
financial institutions that not only can create additional
jobs, but also can provide FinTech businesses with
banking services , the next step will be to determine if
the amendments were adequate enough or too r eBermuda Senate strictive, and thus hamper rather than encourage new
quality entrants.
Madam Chairman, in the Minister’s budget
brief, he also mentioned that Government will do two
things to help reduce the mortgage pressures for hardworking Bermudians. Firstly, by working with pr ivate sector banks to pilot a mortgage guarantee pr ogramme, and secondly , by creating a government -
back ed mortgage lender to relieve pressure on public
sector employees by providing them with reduced mortgage rates. The unit will be the key driver of tur ning these two ideas into reality.
Madam Chairman, other notable tasks to be
achieved by the Economic and Financial Intelligence Unit in the upcoming fiscal year include reviewing the Government’s debt management policy and making
any changes deemed appropriate; continuing work with the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Bermuda Pension Commission to amend the National
Pension Scheme ( Occupational Pensions ) Act 1998 in
order to introduce new provisions, as well as to enhance existing provisions; continue to work with
CARTAC to develop econometric models for the for ecasting of key economic indicators and government’s
medium -term fiscal data; continuing to work with the
Government Employees Health Insurance Committee
to assist in redesigning the health plan; conducting a review of our pension arrangements to determine
whether public and private pensions are set at appr opriate levels; continuing the review of all government
pension plans to determine sustainability of the funds;
and work with the Ministry of Health on the financi ng
of the health care reform.
The salary provision of $299,664 covers two
posts, inc luding Assistant Financial Secretary , Economics and Finance; and the Economic Advisor. The
other major item of cost in this unit is a provision for
consulting services for special studies of $99,500.
Treaty Management and Administration,
20040, sees an i ncrease of $120,000. Madam Chairman, the budget for the Unit in 2019/20 is set at
$1,002,000, an increase of $120,000 from last year’s budget of $882,000. This increase is related to ong oing costs of the new exchange of information portal for
the automatic exchange of information for tax purposes, which went live in June of 2017; and one additio nal staff member, a senior automatic exchange of i nformation officer, to assist in the administration of the portal and all matters related to automatic exchange
of information. This will bring the Treaty Unit’s r esources to a total of four staff.
Madam Chairman, the Treaty Unit is respo nsible for the following areas:
1. negotiating tax information exchange agre ements, other agreements relating to tax infor-mation exchange, and associated agreements
with member countries of the EU, G20 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Deve lopment, and other countries; 2. being responsible for relationship management regarding tax matters with the USA, E uropean Commission and member s of the E uropean Union; and additionally ,
3. the Unit manages and administers requests
for exchange of information on the by -request
basis and on the automatic exchange of i nformation basis.
Madam Chairman, the work of the Unit continues to diversify from t he original core activity that
led to its creation, i.e., the processing of international
tax cooperation EOIR [exchange of information on
request], to now include the growing global regime for
AEOI, which is the automatic exchange of information.
(The EOI R is the exchange of information on a by -
request basis.)
Madam Chairman, since the Treaty Unit’s
formation in 2007, global cooperation in tax matters
has intensified significantly. I only need mention the
economic substance, and everyone will immediately
understand the intensified threat. The EU noncooperative jurisdictions’ initial threat of December 2017 is
ongoing and will continue for at least the next few
years with assessments by both the EU and the
OECD in monitoring and assessing the noncooper ative jurisdictions list begun by the EU. This is clear
evidence of the intensification of this threat, and it may
therefore be necessary to add even further resources to the Treaty Unit.
Madam Chairman, the proactivity of the Treaty Unit has included continued negotiation of tax i nformation exchange agreements, both multilateral with now over 120 treaty partners and bilateral, and other
agreements relating to tax information exchange and
associated agreements. This represents a global network of treaties, incl usive of member countries of the
EU, G20, OECD and other jurisdictions. This outreach included fostering good relations with the OECD and
several treaty partners that enabled Bermuda to make FinTech presentations at the OECD and for the Premier to hold a b ilateral meeting with a treaty partner at
the political level at the Davos 2019 conference.
At the same time, Bermuda, through the Treaty Unit, had accomplished a number of firsts in signing
key tax agreements and joining important OECD tax committees. An d Bermuda attained France’s White
List for France’s country -by-country tax -related aut omatic exchange of information regime, the first UK Overseas Territory to attain France’s country -bycountry White List. These accomplishments were
made possible through relationship- building with tax
officials in key countries and proactively signing a ppropriate tax agreements whereby these accomplis hments have distinguished us, apart from other jurisdi ctions, and created what the Ministry refers to as the
“Bermuda standard .”
Madam Chairman, it is critical for Bermuda to
hold onto our “largely compliant ” rating for implementation of international standards of transparency and
430 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate exchange of information for tax purposes by the
OECD Global Forum. As it should be noted, an OECD
rating of less than “ largely compliant ” in the areas of
exchange of information on the by -request basis and
exchange of information on the automatic basis would
negatively impact the EU Code [ of Conduct ] Group’s
noncooperative jurisdictions list criteria.

[Crosstalk ]

Senator Caesar is going to assist at
this point.
Just so that everyone is aware, we have
about 58 minutes left. And we are on the first head.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Okay.
Madam Chairman, fiscal year 2019/20 will be
an import ant and busy time for the Treaty Unit as the
country continues further negotiations with the EU Code of Conduct Group and will be subjected to assessments by it, as well as the OECD, for compliance with economic substance, as well as the automatic
exchange of information standard.
The salary provision for the Treaty Unit in
2019/20 is $439,572. The other major recurring item of cost in this unit is for the ongoing cost of the new
exchange of information portal travel for attendance at the OECD Global Forum s, meeting with European
Commission officials in Brussels and OECD officials ,
relationship- building with tax officials in key countries ,
and being proactive in identifying when there is need
to negotiate and sign new treaties to protect Berm uda’s interests .
Office of the National Anti -Money Laundering
Committee, 20100. Madam Chairman, the purpose of
the office of the National Anti -Money Laundering
Committee, or o ffice of NMLAC, is to provide secretariat support to NMLAC, coordinate and manage the
administr ation of NMLAC national initiatives such as
the assessment of Bermuda’s national money lau ndering and terrorist financing risks , and reviews of
Bermuda’s anti -money laundering and anti -terrorist
financial regimes by external bodies. The office works
with N MLAC member agencies to ensure that Berm uda has a strong, effective regime to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and the financing of proliferation , and also collaborates with international
counterparts in support of Bermuda’s efforts to help
address these issues on a global scale.
The office of NMLAC’s budget for the fiscal
year 2019/20 is $802,000, representing an increase of
approximately $139,000 over the 2018/19 allocation. The additional allocation will provide funding for
NMLAC’s critical programme, a key focus of which is
the finalisation of the report arising from the current
assessment of Bermuda’s compliance with global standards for the combating of money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation. Acti vities to wards this end have been part of the office’s programme over the last three fiscal years, but were
funded during that period by an allocation made from
the Confiscated Assets Fund in 2016, with the ba lances managed and rolled over into each successive year. Those funds are now depleted, necessitating a
budgetary allocation to support the continuation of this
vital work.
Madam Chairman, during the financial year
2018/19, the assessment of Bermuda’s anti -money
laundering and anti -terrorist financing regime w ent
into high gear. This assessment is being carried out
by a team of assessors under the leadership of the
Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). During this period, Bermuda had to send the CFATF assessment team written submissions on the effectiv eness of the regime, and also had to participate in the assessor’s onsite visit to Bermuda. Therefore, a key focus for this year, 2018/19, for the o ffice of NMLAC
has been to coordinate the preparation of Bermuda’s
written submissions and to make the preparations for ,
and manage, the administrative arrangements in rel ation to the onsite visit of the assessment team.
In the meantime, the office was simultaneously taking steps in conjunction with NMLAC to drive the policy and legislative development activiti es, which
were required to close identified gaps in the regime.
Following the conclusion of the onsite visit, Bermuda
received the first draft of the mutual evaluation report from the assessors. And the office continued its role in
organising and managing the review of, and response
to, that report. The Chair of NMLAC, supported by the
office team, kept Cabinet and the relevant Cabinet committee apprised of all of the developments
throughout this review. This also entailed an articulating on behalf of NMLAC agencies in providing recommendations in relation to strategic matters of concern that required Cabinet’s attention.
As part of Bermuda’s preparations for the various stages of the assessment, which had com-menced in the previous fiscal year, the office also co ntinued to provide support to NMLAC agencies through
facilitating ongoing technical training and guidance to
such agencies by international experts in AML/ATF
matters. These experts have assisted and continue to
provide support to NMLAC teams in preparing sub-missions and in developing strategies and action
plans to address remaining technical issues.
Madam Chairman, during this same period,
the Bermuda team achieved a significant milestone with the publication, for the first time, of a report on
Berm uda’s national money laundering and terrorist
financing risk. This document provided a consolidated
report on the findings of the national risk assessment
on terrorism, financing and money laundering, respectively, which were conducted by NMLAC in 2016 and
2017. This was a critical component underpinning Bermuda’s work to achieve technical compliance with international standards, and the report was part of the


Bermuda Senate information considered by the assessors and the assessment, which is underway.
More important, th e work carried out in these
risk assessments as well as the public communication
to stakeholders of the findings have been important components of Bermuda’s ongoing development of a
truly risk -based AML/ATF framework.
Madam Chairman, the approval of a re port
that fairly rates and represents Bermuda’s AML/ATF regime will be a critical area of focus for NMLAC during this financial year. Given the important outcome of this assessment to Bermuda’s ongoing economic success, the office of NMLAC will be required to play a
leading role in the coordination and facilitation of all
aspects of this work. However, other components of Bermuda’s AML/ATF programme will also have to be
advanced during this time. Therefore, the key initi atives that the office of NMLAC team will be working on in financial year 2019/20 are as follows:
• In accordance with the CFATF assessment
procedures, coordinating the participation of NMLAC agencies in identifying and appropr iately managing issues noted in Bermuda’s draft Mutual Evaluation Report, preparing submissions in response and in having meaningful deliberations and negotiations with the
CFATF assessment team in relation to the draft report.
Bermuda will receive the second draft of the
Mutual Evaluation Report (or MER) early in the new
fiscal year and then will be required to provide a comprehensive response to the assessors on this draft.
Prior to the issuing of the next draft report, a series of
focused discussions and deliberations facilitated by
the office will be required, consisti ng primarily of conference calls and a face- to-face meeting between the
Bermuda team, the assessors and the secretariat.
The third draft of the report will be provided by
the assessors in mid- September and will be subject to
discussion and approval by the CFATF plenary in N ovember.
• Coordinating the preparations of Bermuda team’s presentation and submissions at the
CFATF working group meetings and plenary
in November 2019 to facilitate the best outcomes in those discussions.
• Coordinating and facilitating B ermuda’s communication with the assessment team and the secretariat in relation to the plenary and wor king document.
• Coordinating and facilitating Bermuda’s parti cipation in and responses to issues raised dur-ing the global quality and consistency review
of the Mutual Evaluation Report after the
CFATF plenary in November 2019 and into
early 2020.
• Facilitating the management of Bermuda’s
AML/ATF 2019/20 legislative agenda to seek parliamentary approval in relation to the mat-ters on the national action plan t hat require
legislative action. The items on the legislative agenda are intended to address a few remai ning gaps to fully align the legislative fram ework with the requirements of the international standards, as well as to strengthen the effectiveness of Bermuda’s regime.
• Managing NMLAC’s calendar of events, which has already been planned for the calendar
year 2019 to include the review and update of the national AML/ATF policy and the national
AML/ATF strategy and action plan, and commencement of planning f or the next terrorist
financing and money laundering national risk
assessment. And finally;
• Assisting in the implementation and a dvancement of the initiative in the national
strategy and action plan.
In order to progress all of these initiatives, the
chair and office team will continue to work closely with
the National Anti -Money Laundering Cabinet Commi ttee, NMLAC member agencies and other stakehol ders.
The salary provision for the office of NMLAC
in 2019/20 is $452,317. There have been specific new allocations for overseas consultants of $75,000, and
local training of $15,000 to allow the office to continue
to provide technical support for NMLAC’s work, using
recognised international specialists. The other major
recurring item of cost in this unit is for travel for attendance at international conferences, including
CFATF plenaries and Bermuda’s annual membership
contribution to the CFATF, $57,400.
Madam Chairman, the estimated cost of operating the Ministry of Finance Headquarters in 2019/20 is approximately $5 million, 41 per cent of
which is accounted for by salaries, or $2,391,000. The
salary allocation is apportioned between the functional
units in the Ministry Headquarters, as follows:
• cost centre 20000, Policy Planning and Ma nagement, $377,000;
• cost centre 20010, Fiscal Planning and Control, $447,000;
• cost centre 20020, Regulatory Unit, $357,000;
• cost centre 20030, Economic and Financial
Intelligence, $305,000;
• cost centre 20040, Treaty Management,
$444,000; and
• cost centre 20100, Office of NMLAC,
$462,000.
Training. This funding is used for training and
continuous professional development of Ministry
Headquarters staff. The increase is mainly due to i ncreased training requirements for the NMLAC office.
This training is required for preparation of the CFATF
assessment in 2018/19. There will also be training
needs for new staff in the Treaty Unit in relation to the exchange of information portal.
432 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Travel has had no change, at $136,000. And
this allocation makes up for provision for travel costs
in connection with relation to maintenance in the Uni ted States, the United Kingdom and Europe. Travel involved for overseas treaty negotiations, OECD meet ings, EU Code of Conduct meetings, and
NMLAC travel to CFATF plenaries are also covered in
this allocation. The international environment for Bermuda is currently hostile through no fault of our own.
Therefore, more than ever it is critical that we travel
and actively engage in the appropriate places in the appropriate forums, and in the appropriate manner to
get the Bermuda story out there.
Communications, at $39,000, also had no
change. This is to provide for the cost of telephone
accounts, which are now devolved into two depar tments, having previously been paid centrally by the Ministry of Works and Engineeri ng. Advertising and
Promotion, as well, no change at $8,000. The Ministry
had previously placed advertisements and/or suppl ements in quality business journals, magazines and
newspapers that had the high likelihood of being read
by senior executives in the C -suite of their organis ations. This advertising is now mostly performed by the
Business Development Unit within the Ministry of
Economic Development, but the Ministry still places
some supplements. Therefore, funding is allocated.
Professional Services i ncreased by $45,000
to $1,025,000. Professional Services is allocated across the following programmes in the Ministry of
Finance Headquarters [and includes] :
• Policy Planning and Management, $580,000;
• Regulatory Unit, $40,000;
• Economic and Financial Intell igence, $80,000;
• Treaty Unit, $75,000; and
• Fiscal Planning, $25,000.
A core sum of $300,000 is earmarked for
maintaining effective relationships in Europe. With the
ever-increasing external threats to our economic survival, it is crucial that we aggressiv ely engage with the
relevant entities. These consultants help the Gover nment to actively engage in the appropriate places, in
the appropriate forums, and in the appropriate manner
to get the Bermuda story out there, as I said previously.
This allocation a lso includes funding for the
work of the Fiscal Responsibility Panel and the Eff iciency Committee. Also, the Ministry has to provide
the Bermuda Public Accountability Board with funding
to cover consulting expenditures associated with the
costs for the Canadian Public Accountability Board to
undertake inspections of Bermuda’s public -based accountants. And there has been an increase in legal
fees for lawyers who represent the Treaty Unit.
Rentals, at $12,000, has not changed. And
this allocation provides for leasing of the photocopier
and other rental equipment.
Materials and Supplies has decreased by
$21,000, to $84,000. This provision funds general of-fice supplies, as well as printing costs of the three
budget documents, namely, the Budget Statement,
Econ omic Review and the Approved Estimates of
Revenue and Expenditure, all of which are compet itively tendered each year. The change is due to the better procurement of goods and supplies and a r eduction in printing costs.
The line item under Expenses, there was an
increase of $30,000 to $183,000, and this includes an
annual membership fee to the Caribbean Regional
Technical Assistance Centre, or CARTAC. This me mbership allows the Government to participate in var ious workshops and conferences at no additional cost.
And an annual contribution to the OECD Global F orum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for
Tax Purposes is also included in this allocation. The
amount also represents miscellaneous items, includ-ing subscriptions for journals, periodicals a nd other
online news and information- monitoring sites and
board fees. The change is due to an increase in the
CARTAC contribution offset by lower subscription
costs.
Grants and Contributions. There is an i ncrease of $500,000 to $1.557 million. The 2019/20
budget of $1.557 million is made up of the following items: Grants to the National Pension Commission of
$1 million, the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission
of $500,000 and CFATF at $57,000. The increase is due to the transfer of the Bermuda Casino Gaming
Commission (or BCGC) to the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry will provide a $500,000 grant to the Gaming Commission to cover their operations. The Com-mission will seek external financing with local instit utions to cover their other operational costs.
Can y ou bear with me one second? I am just
trying to make sense of what I am reading.

Thank you, Senator Caesar.

Sen. Crystal Caesar:
The department generates revenue of
$400,000, and this represents a guarantee fee for the
$165 m illion Morgan’s Point guarantee.
There are capital acquisitions in cost centre
76152, which is the National Trust furnishings fund of $25,000. It is unchanged. This provision is to fund
new furnishings for the public rooms at Government House.


Bermuda Senate Cost centr e 76153, the National Trust Maint enance Fund, again unchanged at $5,000. This prov ision funds the refurbishment of furnishings for the
public rooms at Government House.
And cost centre 76867, the OECD Common
Recording System, an increase of $55,000 to $95,000. This represents the ongoing capital cost associated with the specialised web portal for USA
FATCA [Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act] and
OECD country -by-country recording and common r eporting standards.
I will now briefly discuss the Pension Commission and the Gaming Commission.

I believe the items you just mentioned
are on page C -10, for people who are still trying to
catch up.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: All right. Okay. Madam Chai rman, on page C -16, the Pension Commission. The
Pension C ommission is a corporate body established
under the National Pension Scheme (Occupational
Pensions) Act 1998 and has the following functions:
• to administer the Act and the regulations;
• to consider and determine applications for the
registration of pension plans ;
• to consider and determine financial hardship withdrawal application;
• to promote and ensure compliance by pension
plans with the provisions of the Act and regulations ;
• to monitor the administration and funding of
pension plans and to enforce the prov isions of
the Act and regulations in respect of admi nistration funding ;
• to verify the payment of benefits under pen-sion plans ;
• to promote public education on pension plans and their benefits ;
• to advise the Minister on any other matter r elating to pensions , including the development
of laws relating to pension plans;
• to provide such information relating to its functions as the Minister may require;
• to investigate complaints relating to a pension
plan and a pension fund; and
• to perform any other functions provided for in
or under this Act.

[Sen. James S. Jardine, Chairman]
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Mr. Chairman, I will move on to
the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission.
The Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission is
an independent corporate body established under the
Casino Gaming Act 2014. Bermuda has introduced
the integrated resort casino model of gaming, which is
aimed at providing an exciting entertainment option for resort guests and locals to enjoy responsibly. Gaming will be offered as an amenity at the resort in a ddition
to others such as dining, spas and shopping.
Mr. Chairman, if you would just bear with me,
I am going to try and whittle down some of this so that
we do have some time for questions.

Thank you, Senator. You are doing
very well.

HEAD 58 —INTEREST ON DEBT
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Okay. Head 58 is Interest on
Debt, page B -138. And there was a decrease of $7.5
million, or 6 per cent, to $116.5 million.
Mr. Chairman, the 2019/20 budget allocation
for interest on debt, as I said, is $116.5 million. The
2019/20 estimate of that amount represents the ong oing debt service cost for the following debt instr uments: The fi rst is US$100 million of a Government of
Bermuda private placement note due on May 1
st,
2019, at an interest rate of 7.38 per cent, annual i nterest $7.38 million. And the interest for 2019/20 will be $1.2 million as the notes mature on May 21
st, 2019.
The second is US$80 million Government of
Bermuda private placement note due on November 10th, 2019, with an interest rate of 5.93 per cent,
annual interest of $4.744 million. The interest for
2019/20 will be $3.01 million as the notes mature on
November 10th, 2019.
Next is US$140 million unsecured senior
notes maturing on December 4th, 2022, with an interest rate of 5.73 per cent, annual interest of $8.2 mi llion.
The following is US$475 million unsecured
senior notes maturing on January 3rd, 2023, with an
interest rate of 4.138 per cent, annual interest of
$19.66 million.
Moving on, there is a BD$50,000 local bond
maturing on December 16th, 2023, with an interest
rate of 4.75 per cent, annual interest of $2.375 million.
434 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Next is US$550 million unsecured no te, m aturing on February 6th, 2024, with an interest rate of
4.854 per cent, annual interest of $26.7 million.
Next is US$665 million unsecured senior
notes maturing on January 25th, 2027, with an interest
rate of 3.717 [per cent], annual interest of $24. 7 million.
And finally, US$620 million unsecured senior
notes maturing on November 1st, 2029, with an interest rate of 4.75 [per cent], annual interest of $29.45
million.
And that ends my contribution on Head 58,
Interest on Debt.

HEAD 59 —SINKING FUND

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Moving on, Mr. Chairman, to
Head 59, Sinking Fund, page B -139.
The Sinking Fund had a decrease of
$64,223,000 ( they were dol lars this year. Mr. Chai rman) . Effective March 31st, 1993, the Government
Borrowing Sinking Fund (or GBSF) was established
as a separate legal entity for the repayment of government borrowing under the provisions of the Government Loans Act 1978. During each financial year,
the Consolidated Fund of the Government is required
to pay to the GBSF 2.5 per cent of the public debt
outstanding in the Consolidated Fund at the end of the
preceding year.
Until the Government Loans Act of 1978 was
amended in 2009, the GBSF was only to be applied to reduce or cancel public debt. The assets are invested
in accordance with the Public Funds Act 1954 and are
shown as a reduction of debt issued on the Consol idated Fund Statement of Financial Position. The as-sets are currently invested in US Government and
agency securities, investment -grade corporate secur ities and money market funds. The primary objective of
the investment strategy of the assets of the Sinking
Fund is principal protection. The one- year return of
the fund as of February 28, 2019, was 2.47 per cent.
At the end of this fiscal year, it is anticipated
that the Sinking Fund balance will total approximately
$217.8 million. During fiscal year 2019/20, a total of
$180 million of the proceeds in the fund will be used to
repay two tranches of maturing private placement
notes. This will reduce our interest costs by $12.1 mi llion per year and lower our weighted average cost of
borrowing from 4.591 per cent to 4.437 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, in uncertain times, fiscal rules
must accommodate volatility in the funds available for future budgets. Sluggish international growth may
continue to limit Bermuda’s ability to increase the
GDP, generate or sustain employment opportunities,
and increase government revenues to support the
provision of services. On occasion, there is a financing gap between the stimulatory policies that we would like to see in place to protect jobs and the pol icies that we can finance from revenue. Governments must either borrow funds to bridge this financing gap,
or they must cut spending to accommodate the actual
revenue.
Spending reductions ultimately result in public
sector downsizing, which creates weaknesses in the private sector. Mr. Chairman, over the last decade,
Bermuda has experienced recurring budget deficits
and a growing national debt, coupled with periods of
negative economic growth. Significant at tention has
been focused on our approximately $2.5 billion of debt, with calls to reduce expenditure, deficits and, consequently, the debt.
The Government is mindful of the effects of
the debt burden on the country’s fiscal posture and is taking the neces sary steps to prudently manage our
debt through strategic financings designed to lower
interest costs, extend maturities and reduce debt
while providing the Government with the space to execute on its economic growth strategy.
Mr. Chairman, as announced i n the 2019/20
budget, due to the uncertainties facing the Bermuda
economy, mainly in relation to economic substance
requirements, the Government reconsidered our fiscal
strategy for the 2019/20 budget, as laid out in the PreBudget Report. Accordingly, as announced, the Go vernment will suspend the mandatory annual contrib ution to the Sinking Fund rather than borrow additional
monies to make this annual contribution.
This decision has been made in light of the
following factors: Apart from the private placement
notes referenced above, the next maturity of gover nment debt will occur in 2022. The interest expense
associated with borrowing to fund the mandatory Sink-ing Fund contributions will be greater than the inves tment return generated on those funds, and t he Go vernment is forecasting continued operating surpluses,
which it intends to contribute to the Sinking Fund for
use to make open- market purchases of its existing
indebtedness.
Mr. Chairman, the Government Borrowing
Sinking Fund is still an important part of the Gover nment’s debt management policy, as its primary pur-pose is to reduce or cancel public debt. Mr. Chairman, all we are doing is inserting a level of flexibility in the
process to allow government to make the appropriate
responses during times of uncertainty. In this case, instead of having to borrow in order to make a mandatory contribution of $67 million in the fiscal year, we
are proposing the following: Cancel the mandatory contribution of $67 million to the Sinking Fund. Make a
contribution of up to 75 per cent of the 2019/20 surplus in the 2020/21 fiscal year. During the next session, legislation will be brought forward to provide for
this proposal.
Mr. Chairman, as the Government is projec ting a small deficit for 2019/20, the Government does
not anticipate any long- term borrowing in this fiscal
year, and at March 31
st, 2020, it is estimated that the
gross public debt will stand at $2.5 billion; and debt of


Bermuda Senate the net Sinking Fund will be $4.57 billion once we a pply the projected surplus to the Sinking Fund.
In closing, I wish to assure the public that the
Government is sensitive to the challenges which arise
when debt is unsustainably high. And, to reiterate, the Government has a plan of action to reduce the public
debt and to guide the country to a sustainable fiscal
path. With those remarks, Mr. Chairman, I end my
comments on Heads 10, 58 and 59.

Very mu ch appreciated.
We have approximately 25 minutes remai ning. Would any Senator wish to speak to these heads?
Senator Kempe, you have the floor.

Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Senators.
That was a very detailed brief on Head 10.
And I guess despite the level of minutia, there were a
couple of clear areas that were not addressed that I would have liked to have seen addressed. And I will
try and focus my questions there.
First of all, the various pension funds, the CPF
and the PSS F, were described as being in good
shape in the short term. But there was no mention at
all in the statement ( and this was before things were
abbreviated) . . . there was no mention of a plan to
affront the long- term underfunding problem. And I
would certa inly like to hear what Government’s plan is
to address that. I believe it is well over $1 billion now in underfund.
Especially seeing that this is of, I guess, even
more importance now that we have seen the departure from the target of 2.5 per cent of out standing
debt, whether you want to retire it or put it into the
Sinking Fund, we have seen a massive departure from those targets for the next three years. So, I am
especially concerned about what the plan is to address the long- term underfund of the pensi on.
I look at the Grants line. For those listening, I
am on page B -116, Head 10, looking at the Grant line
for the Gaming Commission. I am not sure if this is something that was transferred in from another Mini stry. I could not find it, looking through pr evious grant
contribution lines, but there is a half a million dollars dedicated for 2019/20 to the Gaming Commission.
But, obviously, it is showing zero on the years prior.
I just want to know if that is a brand- new grant
or if that has been transferred in from another Mini stry? And I would also like to know if the Ministry of
Finance feels that a banking solution can be achieved for gaming if the amendment to the Gaming Act in
December 2017 is not rolled back.
I also have a question, if we look at the c apital
development line for the Ministry of Finance Headquarters, and this is found on page C -4. There is a
half a million dollars a year dedicated towards the
Bermuda infrastructure fund. And I would like to know
what public sector projects, or otherwise, are being
supported by that half a million dollars a year, because I am not aware of any. I would just like to know
that we are getting value for money with that. Between 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20, there were $1.5 mi llion spent on that fund.
I would a lso like to know, there was talk of the
Efficiency Committee, which seems to fall under HQ.
And there was a lot of talk about transparency with the
Pre-Budget Report. But I would like to know when and
if there is any intention of making that report that wa s
finalised on September 2018 public, and in a dollar
value, how much savings are projected to come out of
that report?
Flipping over to page B -118, I am looking at
the employee numbers in full -time equivalents. And I
would like to know, I guess on a coup le of fronts, first,
who is responsible for the banking for gaming within
the Ministry? I do not see any obvious increases to
staffing across the various business units. Is it just the Minister, or is there some other level of civil service support to see this initiative through?
I also heard in the statement (and please correct me if I misheard) that the Economic and Financial Intelligence business unit will be responsible for over-seeing the two mortgage initiatives that the . . . (I am
sorry; not you, Mr . Chairman.) If Senator Campbell
could advise me about the two mortgage initiatives
that were in the Budget Statement, primarily the guarantee facility for bank finance loans, as well as the
direct lending initiative coming from Government to
the civil ser vants. If the Economic and Financial Inte lligence business unit is going to be responsible for
this, I would have expected an increase in full -time
equivalent units to manage such a technical and r ather large process.
Shooting over to the performance meas ures,
on page B -119, I notice that the percentage variation
on current account expenditure was positive, I guess, from a budgeting standpoint. But it came in at 3.3 in
the actuals in 2017/18, and the revised forecast for
2018/19 is 1 per cent over. The var iance targets are
plus/minus 2 per cent. With a $7 million surplus pr ojected, that is a very fine window. And I just wanted to know what, if any, additional measures are being put
in place to ensure that there is no borrowing, or we do
not have to dip into what is left of the Sinking Fund if
the surplus target is not met for 2019/20.
I also wanted to know . . . on the GDP performance measures, the revised forecast for 2018/19 on
page B -119 is showing 1.0 [per cent] to 2.0 per cent.
But I believe in the Nat ional Economic Report it was
436 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate revised down to 0.5 to 1.0 per cent. So, I wanted to
know what, in the economic context that we live in,
makes the Ministry believe that the target outcome for
2019/20 will be better than the 2018/19, what I believe
should be t he revised forecast as per the Budget
Statement and the National Economic Report.
I am not terribly concerned, I guess, about
seeing progress on the government net debt to rev enue at this stage. Any form of contribution towards
retiring notes will improve that measure. I am more
concerned about the interest to revenue targets because, obviously, we are more exposed to international lending rates as we come to refinance notes as
we go forward. And I guess I will use that opportunity
to segue into interest o n debt, on page B -138. Right
now, our interest on debt is $117 million, basically.
And for those listening at home, I guess I find it i nstructive to compare that to some of our other larger ministries.
And, Mr. Chairman, I know you have a few
questions. I will make sure I am wrapping up in the
next few minutes.

Please continue. Do not worry about
my questions.
Sen. Nicholas Kempe: The interest on debt at
$116.5 million or $117 million is, when you compare it
to National Security , at $135 mil lion; when you compare it to the Ministry of Education, [is] at $137 million ;
when you compare it to hospitals, [is] at $145 million,
and even Financial Assistance [is] at $51 million. One
can quickly see that the interest on debt is crowding
out public services. So, when you borrow money, you
are not just borrowing from your lenders. You are also
borrowing from your future self. And the debt was cr eated, if one looks back at the last 20 years of deficits
and debt, and especially on the CapEx side, by a lac k
of discipline in managing of public funds.
So, I can understand the Minister’s rationale
as it relates to negative carrying costs for this year
only, with the suspension of the Sinking Fund. But I
am very concerned about our exposure to fluctuation and interest on debt in coming years. If we are not
aggressively focusing our targets and our saving or retirement of notes, discipline towards tackling the outstanding debt going forward . . . If we look at the
interest on debt, and Senator Caesar gave us a
breakdown of upcoming notes that are due, we are
aware that this fiscal year upcoming, we have a $100
million note at 7.38 per cent. Now, that will be retiring
the most expensive note that we have out there. But it
is also one of the smaller notes.
So, my concern is that with the departure from
a savings discipline, when it comes time to retire the $615 million in 2022/23, the $600 million in 2023/24, the $665 million in 2026/27, or the $620 million in
2028/29, that if we do not have the savings to start
aggressively knocking down these notes, when we refinance, we are refinancing less capital, that if interest rates take an upward correction we could be exposed to some wild variance on our interest on debt.
Take, for example, one of the notes that worries me the most, and that is the $665 million that is
due to be retired or refinanced (most likely) in
2026/27. That note is running interest at 3.717 per
cent, or $25 million per year. Just to put it into perspective, if, for example, that needed to be refinanced
at the rate of the note that we are retiring this upcoming fiscal year, that would move the interest on debt on that note alone—again, it is 7.38 per cent —to $49
million a year, which is $24 million more in interest
than we are presently paying on that note.
So, again, I am concerned about the departure from discipline. I am concerned about the fact
that, unlike most countries, or a lot of countries that print their own currency and can borrow in their own
currency, there is the key exposure of inflationary r ecessions because of borrowing in foreign currency. When we look at the kind of key levers that a gover nment has to retire debts, it is monetary policy, which
we really do not have since we do not print our own
currency. We are pegged to the US. A usterity is a key
one, and that seems to be a bad word with this Government. I am not sure why. But when we have a
long-term debt crisis like this, we really need to be
mindful of what limited levers we have to address it.
I am also, I guess, still unclear, because I
have only heard vague intentions as it relates to the
Sinking Fund. The 2.5 per cent contribution, or, if one
wants, a retirement of outstanding notes (I am not terribly concerned which way that goes depending on
cancellation and refinancing f ees), but the 2.5 per cent
target of kind of debt tackling of the outstanding debt was a laudable savings goal or retirement -of-debt
goal. This replacement of up to 75 per cent of surplus
is an incredibly vague commitment. What if nothing?
And if the whole 75, what is going to happen to the
surplus?
We have the $7 million projected for this year,
and there has been nothing said in any of the stat ements that I recall of what would be done with that.
Next year there is a projected surplus of which 75 per
cent of would be $15 million, as opposed to some $60
million if we go by the 2.5 per cent outstanding debt
calculation. And in 2021/22, the full 75 per cent, if that
were actually dedicated towards the debt, and it is not clear it will be, would only be $39 m illion. So, again we
are going to have a significant amount of the $615 million due to retire in 2022/23 if we are not tackling this outside debt.
So, I would like to hear what the Government
plan is to meet the performance measures set out in Ministry of Finance Headquarters, because this departure from savings discipline is not going to make much of a dent on the retirement of debt.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.



Bermuda Senate The Chairman: Thank you, Senator Kempe.
I am going to forgo my questions because
there are only about eight minutes left for Senator
Campbell to answer the questions.
So, I am going to turn it over to Senator
Campbell.

[Pause]

[Crosstalk]

Thank you, Senator Campbell. I think
you are ready to answer some of the questions.

Sen. Van ce Campbell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I
do have some answers to some of the questions.
The concern of how the Government plans to
address the underfunding of the pensions, there has
been the formation of a Pension and Benefits Working
Group, inclusive of actuarial assistance.
The Government has recently . . . the i ncrease, the contributions . . . and the Government also
eliminated the automatic cost -of-living increase. So,
the work of the Pension and Benefits Working Group, inclusive of the work of the ac tuary who is on that
group, the increased contributions and the elimination
of the automatic cost -of-living increases are steps in
the direction to address the underfunding.
The question around the half a million- dollar
grant to the Gaming Commission, as to whether this
was a new grant or transferred in, there was no grant
last year. And the Gaming Commission had gone out
to the market and borrowed money. The question
around whether there is a banking s olution to be
found for gaming is still being worked on.
Mr. Chairman, the Senator had a question
concerning the infrastructure fund and what is being supported by that. At this point in time, Mr. Chairman,
there are discussions going on as to what various
public/private sector propos als can be supported with
these ones. But no final decision has been made in
reference to the use of these funds.
That is all I have so far. If you bear with me, I
will get some more.

While we are waiting, just for the li stening public, I would just like to acknowledge the
presence in the Chamber this afternoon (it is still just . . . well, I guess it is this evening now) of the Minister
of Finance, the Honourable Curtis Dickinson.
It is v ery nice to have you here with us this
evening, sir.
[Committee of Supply, continuing]

Yes, there are two minutes left. Ma ybe a quick answer? Very quick.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Mr. Chairman, a few more
answers.
The mortgage initiatives, outside assistance
will be sought to assist with that. And funding is in
place for that.
The employee who is responsible for finding
or overseeing the banking for gaming is the Assistant
Financial Secretary for Economics and Finance, along
with the Minister, given the Minister’s background.
The report of the Efficiency Committee is in
hand. No decision at this time has been made as to
whether it is going to be released— whether it will be,
or when it will be, released to the public. However, we
did hear of measures that have already started in the
Office of the Tax Commissioner, where additional r esources were provided so that outstanding monies
owed to the Tax Commissioner have and will be co llected. And we heard that $3 million have been co llected to date as a result of these measures.

Yes.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Okay. Mr. Chairman, I move
that the following heads be approved, non- Ministry
Department Heads 1, 2, 5, 56, 85, 92, 98 and 101;
Cabinet Office Department Heads 13, 26, 43, 51, 67 and 80; Ministry of Finance Heads 11, 28, 38 and 39;
Ministry of Legal Affairs Heads 3, 74, 75 and 88; Mi nistry of Education Heads 18 and 19; Ministry of Tour-ism and Transport Heads 30 and 34; Ministry of
Health Heads 21, 22 and 91; Ministry of Public Works
Heads 49 and 97; Ministry of Labour, Community A ffairs and Sports Heads 71, 20 and 52; Minist ry of N ational Security Heads 83, 7, 12, 25 and 45; Ministry of Home Affairs Heads 93, 29, 32, 50, 79 and 89; and
Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism Head
95.

Is there any objection?
No objection.
So moved.
Thank you very much, Senators.
[Motion carried: The Appropriation Act 2019 and the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the Year
2019/20 were considered by a Committee of the
whole Senate and approved without amendment.]

Senate resumed at 6: 26 pm
[Sen. the Hon. Joan E . Dillas -Wright, President, in the
Chair]

REPORT OF COMMITTEE

APPROPRIATION ACT 2019

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2019/20
The President: Senators, we are now back in the
Senate.
Is there any objection to the Report of the
Committe e?
No objection.
Senator Campbell, over to you.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on.

BILL

THIRD READING

APPROPRIATION ACT 2019

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Appropriation Act 2019 do now
pass.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?


Bermuda Senate No objection.
The Appropriation Act 2019 is passed.

[Motion carried: The Appropriati on Act 2019 was given
a third reading and passed.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senators.
And I would also just like to say that it has
been a fulsome debate, and I want to thank all Sen ators who participate d in it. And I would like to especia lly thank Senator Jardine and Senator Michelle Si mmons, who have conducted the process.
We will now move on to . . . Well, Senators,
the other orders, we understand that they have been
carried over. So, that concludes t he Orders of the
Day.

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak to
that?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
I would just like to extend hearty congratul ations to Bermuda’s Senior National Football Team that
won 3 –1 over the Dominican Republic. We know it
was a historical win. And that qualifier means that they
are going to be placed in the Gold Cup for the first
time. So, it is a historic event, and we would just like
for congratulations to be extended to Bermuda’s national team.
Thank you.

The President: Senator Jones, I am sure the entire
Senate body would join you in those sentiments.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
Congratulatory and/or Obituary Speeches?
Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of our
Special Olympians, who returned home today to much celebratory moods. And really, they need to be
acknowledged. And the public acknowledgement that
came from the Government was very, very welcome. The Premier and Cabinet Ministers invited them into
the Cabinet Office. And they have done us proud. So,
on behalf of the Senate, I would like to extend my congratulations to the Olympians and their parents
and supporters.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kathy Lynn Si mmons. And I am sure, again, we all join in those sentiments.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
No? Then we move on to Adjournment.

ADJOURNMENT

The President: Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons, Attorney General and Government Leader in the Senate.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I move that the Senate do now adjourn until
Wednesday, March 27th.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Would any Senator care to
speak on the m otion to adjourn?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
It has been a very long and telling time that
we in the Senate have had. Many issues have been
raised that have caught the attention of the communi-ty. And then, there is one subject that I would like to
leave a few words on and be a counterbalance to, I
believe, some statements that were made in regard to the Municipalities Act.

[Inaudible interjections ]

The President: You cannot reflect on a debate that
we have already had. You cannot reflect on the M unicipalities Bill.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Okay. Am I allowed to reflect on
things that were spoken on the night of —
The President: Not at all. No. No. There will be no
comment, Senator. Once we have passed the Bill in
this Senate, you certainly cannot comm ent in the
same session. So, no, that is not allowed.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Okay.

The President: You need to remind yourself of the
Orders of the Senate.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
No? Then, Senators, the Senate stands adjourned until Wednesday, the 27
th. We will meet then.
Thank you.

[At 6:31 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 27 March 2019.]
440 25 March 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate




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