The selection of Pro-Active Management Ltd. by the Government of Bermuda to build the Senior Secondary School provided an excellent opportunity to redress historic inequities.

This article supports this proposition from three viewpoints: the management view; the political view; and the sociological view. In this way, it is intended that the underlying issues will be brought into sharp relief.

From a management viewpoint, the Government had the responsibility to ensure that the project was organised in ways that would guarantee an efficient allocation of resources to produce the new school and at the same time make possible a marked improvement in the delivery of a quality education affordable for all Bermudians.

No doubt this project began with a statement of needs from the Berkeley School Board that was supported by the Ministry of Education.

I suppose these bodies argued that there was a need to upgrade Berkeley to meet the vast demand for a quality education imposed upon Bermuda by the voracious appetite of the International Finance Sector. Once it was agreed that there was justification for a new senior secondary school, I presume that the education planners got together with architects, engineers and government financiers to design the school.

Once the design was agreed by the various stakeholders, the whole project was put out to bid under the supervision of the Ministry of Works and Engineering. Using standard management concepts, Ministry officials would have processed the various bids and made specific recommendations.

We may presume that the Civil Servants made their decisions based upon standard management considerations of the firm's track record, management skills, adequacy of staffing and capitalisation. It is a matter of public record that the civil servants recommended a firm other than Pro-Active Management Ltd. to be awarded the contract. Government overruled the civil servants when it awarded the contract to Pro-Active Management.

The question arises, was the Government decision based on sound management principles? I do not think so, nor do I think that it had to be. Government operations are not driven by the profit motive.

Government decisions, even in a highly capitalist society, are almost always driven by political and social goals. For instance, the decision by the Bermuda Government to give substantial tax concessions to financially healthy resident hotels certainly was not driven by the profit motive.

Still, one has to wonder why Government continues to insist that the company that ultimately got the contract to build the school was selected purely on the basis of merit.

If the civil service professionals disagreed with the choice, then it cannot be claimed that Pro-Active was awarded the contract purely on merit.

Such being the case, Government should have stated its reasons at the outset - beyond the argument that Pro-Active would train Bermudians on the site - and thereby set the stage to take the necessary steps to make certain that Pro-Active did not fail.

Even the major corporations do not always operate on the profit motive. The hundreds of thousands of dollars provided annually to charities, cultural organisations and sporting bodies by our major corporations are certainly not motivated by a desire for profit.

If asked, these businesses would claim to have a social conscience or something like that.

On the other hand, Government has a mandate to take decisions based almost entirely on the basis of welfare considerations. This is true even for seemingly economic enterprises such as the ferry and bus services.

While these Government enterprises charge for their services, that charge does not cover all operating expenses and capital costs. The organisation and operation of these services is based upon welfare considerations and not profit.

For many vital Government services, there are no direct charges. Examples are public education, the grant to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, the annual expenditure incurred by advertising Bermuda as a tourist destination and the operation of the police and prison services.

Obviously the Bermuda Government did not have to follow standard management principles in contracting Pro-Active to build the Senior Secondary School. There were, however, compelling political and sociological reasons.

From a political point of view, governments everywhere must deliver the services demanded by constituents, if it expects to be re-elected.

Certainly, major goals of the constituency that elected the PLP to power was to obtain a first class affordable education for their offspring and to increase black empowerment. The construction of the New Senior Secondary School will go a long way towards the satisfaction of both goals.

It needs to be noted that the fulfilment of the goal of black empowerment would have required Government to do all within its power to make certain that the fledging business had all the resources required to build the school.

Chief among these resources was ready access to financial resources both to purchase necessary equipment and materials and also to provide the working capital needed to pay wages and other operating expenses, on time.

Government could also have provided useful assistance to the firm by making certain that architectural errors were corrected as soon as possible and that the firm was compensated immediately for having to keep on hand idle labour resources while admitted errors were being corrected.

Other change orders should have been financially compensated in full as soon as presented. Pro-Active Management Ltd. is adamant that Government failed on all the above matters.

Such being the case, I would have to conclude that Government did not pursue its political agenda with any enthusiasm.

Sociologically speaking, there was a legitimate basis to develop policies designed to correct historic inequities that have had the result that too many individuals and groups are unable to compete effectively in the Bermuda economy.

Many members of the black majority have been severally disadvantaged in this way. The election of a black government with little or no obligations to the existing power structure provided an excellent opportunity to make a significant contribution to the redressing of these long neglected inequities.

In granting a very large contract to Pro-Active Management, government was seen to be seizing an unusual opportunity to right historic wrongs while at the same time increasing the competitiveness of the construction industry.

This admittedly brief discussion has thrown up certain important observations. Clearly from a management standpoint, Pro-Active was deficient in management experience and the capitalisation necessary to carry out a major project.

Still, it is clear that even from a purely management standpoint, Government could have been brought home the project even if over budget and late, in which case, the satisfaction to the black majority would have seriously outweighed cost considerations. From a political point of view, it was imperative that Government make certain that it did whatever was necessary to make certain that Pro-Active succeeded in the construction of the senior secondary school.

This would have vastly improved the educational opportunities available to a large segment of Bermuda's lower income groups and would have also made a significant impact on the issue of black empowerment. Finally, the construction of the school by Pro-Active management would have helped to redress the centuries of relative economic deprivation of the black community.