Housing Minister Nelson Bascome has denied any wrongdoing in the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal.

But a statement released yesterday seems to raise as many questions as it does answers.

However, absent any statement from her to the contrary, it would appear that Premier Jennifer Smith has accepted Mr. Bascome's version of events and wishes to keep him in the Cabinet.

Mr. Bascome was accused two weeks ago by sacked Housing Corporation general manager Raymonde Dill of having ordered him to give a $300,000 contract for landscaping to a contractor who had not bid on the job.

Mr. Dill essentially alleged in the Bermuda Sun that because another Minister, Dr. Ewart Brown was withholding funds from Bermuda Composite Construction, BCC would not be able to continue work on the Southside housing project. Mr. Dill also claimed that one of the directors of BCC, Zane DeSilva, wanted the BHC to give BCC $870,000 so it could continue with the Southside project.

This was refused, but subsequently, Mr. Dill claims that Mr. Bascome had him "put his head together with Mr. DeSilva" to find a way out of the dispute.

Mr. Dill says he offered to pay $300,000 from payments which were supposed to be withheld by the BHC until the end of the contract. He also claims that Mr. Bascome went on, with Mr. DeSilva present, to order him to give Island Construction (which is owned by Mr. DeSilva) a contract for landscaping Southside, in spite of the fact that Island Construction had not even bid on the tender.

Mr. Bascome is alleged to have asked Mr. Dill what the lowest bid was. Mr. Dill gave him a figure, $300,000, that was actually $75,000 lower than the lowest received bid and Mr. Bascome then said, according to Mr. Dill: "Give Island Construction the contract for $300,000."

Mr. Bascome's version of events is different.

He admits that there was an impasse between the BHC and BCC which he blames on a personality conflict between Mr. Dill and Mr. DeSilva.

"The situation deteriorated to the point where Mr. DeSilva was threatening to walk off the project amid complaints that BHC was withholding payments for ongoing work," Mr. Bascome said in his statement.

He said he then intervened "to break an impasse that threatened the progress of a very important housing development".

"The result of my intervention was a resumption of relations between the Bermuda Housing Corporation and BCC. As a result the work continued unimpeded."

Mr. Bascome does not say how or why relations were resumed; it could be that Mr. Dill's claim he provided $300,000 to BCC in previously withheld retention fees was the reason.

Mr. Bascome goes on to deny the landscaping contract allegations. He says that Mr. Dill informed him that the landscaping contract for Southside had to be re-tendered. "Events transpired (although Mr. Bascome does not say how) that BCC re-bid on the landscaping contract and Mr. Dill let me know that BCC was indeed the lowest bidder," Mr. Bascome said.

Here there are a myriad of contradictions, beginning with whom was awarded the contract. Mr. Dill says that it was Island Construction while Mr. Bascome says it was BCC.

Mr. Bascome says the winning contractor submitted a bid. Mr. Dill says it did not.

These contradictions are easily resolved. If Island Construction (or BCC) submitted a bid, it should be on file at the BHC and Mr. Bascome can document his claim.

Mr. Bascome goes on to lay the blame on Mr. Dill: "If (and I say if with a capital I), Mr. Dill believed he was being given a directive by the Minister that was contrary to protocol, he should have said so right away," Mr. Bascome says, adding that Mr. Dill should also have informed the board of the Housing Corporation.

Protocols, Mr. Bascome says, are in place to prevent political interference in the award of contracts. Mr. Bascome has a point. It seems clear, reading the voluminous coverage in the Bermuda Sun of a fortnight ago, that Mr. Dill often considered politics first and protocol second while managing the BHC. But that does not clear Mr. Bascome, who seems to want to have it both ways.

Why was he being personally informed by Mr. Dill about the landscaping tender and why he was later told that BCC, in his words, was the lowest bidder? These were surely matters for the BHC board alone and his direct involvement is questionable.

So is his earlier involvement in the BCC-BHC dispute.

Why was he intervening personally in a dispute between the BHC and BCC over the housing project when this was clearly a matter for the BHC board? If the $300,000 being retained by the BHC was handed over to BCC, this was a breach of the contract in which Mr. Bascome should have had no part; if anyone should have made this decision, it was the board, even if he approved it later.

Mr. Bascome cannot have it both ways. He cannot be intervene in one contract and then claim that Mr. Dill should have protested when he believed he was intervening in the awarding of another. Mr. Bascome needs to do better than this.