The United Bermuda Party is questioning Government's reluctance to make public its upcoming arbitration hearings between Pro-Active Management Systems concerning the controversial new Berkeley Institute.

Pro-Active's $81 million contract was cancelled last August when Government learned the company would not meet the September 30, 2004 deadline.

Last week Pro-Active met with the Bermuda Industrial Union to discuss the "substance" of the claim against Government before formally serving the claim on the Government's attorneys and heading to arbitration.

But Pro-Active's legal advisor, Julian Hall, told The Royal Gazette last week that Government refused to make the report public as it was instrumental in deciding how much work was completed by Pro-Active at the time their contract was terminated.

Mr. Hall said Pro-Active even conceded to Government's request that hearings be held in private and this is what Shadow Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Maxwell Burgess found "disturbing".

At a Press conference at the UBP Headquarters yesterday, Mr. Burgess said he strongly believed that it would be in the Government and the public's best interest that the hearings be open to the public.

"If the Government is determined to go to arbitration, we should make those hearings public. After all it was a public project, there is much public interest in it and the only arguments I've heard to date is that arbitration in private would protect Pro-Active's interest and reputation," he said. Mr. Burgess said he did hot believe that going behind closed doors would save Pro-Active's reputation, which had already been "tarnished" since it was fired last year.

He said the hearings could be used as an inquiry into the Berkeley project and wanted to know why members of the public should not be allowed the opportunity to learn what went on.

"Who are we really trying to protect? Pro-Active say it's not them because their reputation went out the door when Government fired them," he said, saying a public hearing would help Pro-Active get its reputation back. "With that kind of money being spent and the sums of money been spent over-budget, it seems to me a public inquiry if it should be by means of arbitration, should be the way forward," he said.

Meanwhile, Shadow Minister of Works and Engineering Patricia Gordon-Pamplin yesterday accused Minister of Works and Engineering Ashfield De Vent of once again "breaking his promise".

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said that in February Mr. De Vent confirmed in the House of Assembly that by the end of May a series of blocks at the new Berkeley School would be complete and handed over to the Education Ministry.

She said for him to now say that the buildings were not ready in May was "another promise made, another promise not kept". "For him now to say that the buildings will be ready by January, I have to ask the question, at what point does the Government intend to be honest with the people of this country and give them an accurate assessment of what's happening with that project?" she said.

She also questioned at what point the Government would keep its promises to Bermudians and how accountable the Government believed it needed to be when it came to setting deadlines and keeping them.

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said she doubted the project would be completed by January, but remained optimistic.