The Opposition United Bermuda Party has renewed its call for a position of contractor general to be created to ensure that rules and guidelines governing tenders are enforced.

The move comes after part of the UBP's Throne Speech reply which claimed that multi-million dollar contracts went to friends of the Government untendered with huge cost overruns and no-one held to account were ordered to be struck from the record of the House of Assembly.

Afterwards UBP leader Kim Swan described it as an "act of censorship" and yesterday a UBP spokesman said: "This has certainly not been the strongest language ever used in a Reply, nor is it the first time this particular concern has been made.

"Indeed, our last Throne Speech reply questioned why tens of millions of dollars in Government contracts have been handed over to an axis of two or three construction bosses close to the Premier?"

According to the UBP, a contractor general would oversee the tendering process and monitor all ongoing capital projects, ensure that rules and guidelines were strictly enforced and identify any unfair practices or offensive conduct.

In a statement on its website, the UBP claimed that Global Hue, a US advertiser, renewed its Government contract in May which was valued at $28 million over two years. The UBP said the contract was not tendered and described its owner, Don Coleman, as a "longtime friend" of Premier Ewart Brown.

In its statement, the UBP also said the Port Royal Golf Course renovation was also not tendered, and said the majority of the work was carried out by PLP MP and "golfing buddy" of Dr. Brown, Zane DeSilva.

According to the statement, the project started with a budget of just over $7 million but rose to $15.9 million.

Another contract brought up was Coco Reef hotel, where the UBP said a special investigation by the Auditor General in 2004 concluded that the awarding of the contract to take over the former Stonington Hotel to John Jefferis was "unfair".

The UBP statement said Mr. Jefferis reportedly picked up the tab for a key PLP political consultant in the 1998 election, which was reported in this newspaper in July 2004.

The release said: "He (the Auditor General) concluded that the final terms of the lease signed by Mr. Jefferis with the Government were so different from the conditions originally tendered that the project should have been re-tendered."

The statement also quoted the Auditor General on the need for fairness in tendering. In a report the Auditor said: "If potential contractors suspect the Government's tendering process is compromised or unfair, they would not invest the time and money needed to prepare detailed quotations. This would eventually translate into fewer bids, less competition and therefore higher costs."

Last night Premier Dr. Ewart Brown in response said: "This is a matter for the House."