A Senator accused the Government of cronyism yesterday as he attacked a monopoly for emissions testing on the Island.

Shadow Transport Minister Bob Richards told the Senate the sole contract for vehicles testing with Bermuda Emissions Control (BEC) Ltd. amounted to “a poisoned fruit”.

However, Senator Wayne Caines, Junior Minister for Transport, maintained the contract was subjected to thorough scrutiny.

The two senators have been at loggerheads since Sen. Richards suggested BEC won the business because it is run by Donal Smith, a cousin of Premier Dr. Ewart Brown.

The contract - worth an annual $1 million - was never put out to tender, and the UBP has pressed for it to be opened up to other businesses.

The Government however, says BEC was the only company with the specialist equipment and facilities. It says the decision was examined at length by the Ministry of Transport, the Attorney General’s Chambers, TCD and the Cabinet.

Sen. Richards told the Senate yesterday: “There would be a lot of garages quite happy to put this service to their business but no one had an opportunity to bid for the job. The UBP put in a process for transparent bids for Government contracts but that procedure was not followed.

“This was engineered by this Government. What we have here is an opportunity to properly privatise a Government function which has been lost — to put this out to the private sector. It’s all gone.

“It’s a poisoned fruit because the process is poisoned. It’s a pattern of cronyism, a cronyism whose tentacles have reached across all of Bermuda.”

But Sen. Caines replied: “These type of comments are salacious.”

Earlier yesterday, he attempted to correct “the significant misinformation” over the issue.

He told the Senate that Government introduced a vehicle emissions inspections maintenance programme after a 2001 report by consultant Rob Klausmeier. “In July 2001, a full year after the Klausmeier report, Cabinet approved Bermuda Emissions Control Ltd. as the preferred contractor to provide emissions and vehicle safety inspection services,” said Sen. Caines.

“Much has been made of the fact that there was no open tendering process for the provision of these services. The Government adheres to a set of rules in the tendering process and all its financial dealings, known as Financial Instructions.

“In these Instructions rigid requirements apply to the business conduct of Government. The decision to proceed with contracting the services of BECL without engaging in open tendering process was taken after full scrutiny of the services required to implement the recommendations.

“Further, the then Minister of Transport sought the specific approval of Cabinet prior to the award of this sole service contract.”

Sen. Caines said BEC’s “preparedness to invest in the expensive equipment and the specialised personnel required to provide the service made them an obvious preferred contractor, and thereafter a most suitable choice for the sole service contract”.

He added the first of two emissions testing centres was under construction and that a contractor for the sites was chosen “after an open tender process”.

Referring to BEC having been in talks with the previous UBP Government when they drafted legislation on pollution testing, Sen. Caines told the Senate: “It is unfortunate that the Opposition has chosen to impugn improper motives and the integrity of this Government on this issue. This is particularly unfortunate in light of the fact that discussions with BECL started under the last UBP Government.

“The process adopted since 2000 has been one of painstaking scrutiny, such that cost savings have been realised by Government and a regime of emissions testing will be implemented that will serve the people of Bermuda well.”