Roban handpicked US firm for sole-source PR contract
Walter Roban, a former home affairs minister, handpicked an American firm to handle public relations for a raft of government initiatives — and pushed back on an attempt to check the company’s credentials.
Mr Roban’s e-mail discussions with Andrew Pettit, who was then his permanent secretary, about Diplomatic Enterprises LLC were shared with The Royal Gazette in a public access to information disclosure from his former ministry.
The disclosure also included an e-mailed suggestion from the Government’s procurement director that local PR firms be considered for the work, as well as a complaint from the head of communications about when the contract was made public.
Diplomatic Enterprises, a company based in North Carolina, won a five-month, sole-source, $85,000 contract last November to handle communications and messaging for matters such as the Government’s efforts to join Caricom, its marine prosperity plan, climate change and dangerous dogs.
It was tasked with increasing social-media engagement by 30 per cent and generating “positive sentiment in media coverage of key initiatives”.
The agreement with the foreign firm became public knowledge only when a notice was published in the Official Gazette in March, a week after the 2025 Throne Speech, alongside information about a consultancy contract awarded to Rozy Azhar, a former home affairs permanent secretary.
The Pati disclosure shared with the Gazette contains an October 30, 2024, e-mail from Mr Roban in which he questions Mr Pettit, Ms Azhar’s successor as permanent secretary, on why he had asked Diplomatic Enterprises to give examples of its “government-related media consultation” work and explain how it would manage the contract remotely.
The company had sent the minister a proposal on October 3 about the services it could offer and the minister had asked his PS to prepare a contract to begin on November 1.
“Appreciate it being explain [sic] to me why the specific request is being made at this juncture?” Mr Roban wrote. “Did not the documents sent already satisfy this?”
The minister wrote that some of what was requested from the firm could be discussed “once they are retained”. He added: “Remember I have specifically requested Diplomatic Enterprises, so it’s not an unsolicited offer from they to us.”
On November 5, he told the permanent secretary to update the firm on the status of the proposed contract.
The civil servant replied: “I understand your desire to have started this work on November 1 but as the accounting officer for the ministry I must do my due diligence in regard to your preferred service provider.”
Their discussions continued, with Mr Pettit noting in a November 8 e-mail that the Deputy Solicitor-General had concerns about the contract. “There may still need to be some further justifications required,” he wrote.
The concerns were redacted from the disclosure, as Pati does not include most records involving the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Mr Roban replied the next day, a Saturday, saying: “PS, we have had extensive discussions on this and what has transpired. I am disappointed at where we are on this.
“I have already given you my view on this matter. My wish is for a draft contract to be approved as soon as possible. We are very behind on this.”
The disclosure shows he then forwarded the exchange to government consultant Ms Azhar, telling her: “See below. Even after you advised and I gave direction. Look at what I am told. You must know how I feel right now.”
Ms Azhar replied: “So what is the problem now??? Ridiculous! Advise him that you want to see the signed contract by end of day Wednesday [only because Monday is a holiday and Tuesday is Cabinet].”
Mr Roban then e-mailed the instruction to the permanent secretary: “PS, by end of day Wednesday we must have a contract ready to execute. To begin the work we need to do.”
Mr Pettit, who has since become the PS for the Ministry of Housing and Municipalities, replied on the Sunday to say the Deputy Solicitor-General was likely to advise that more information was needed from Clinton Mitchell, the president and chief executive of Diplomatic Enterprises.
He also suggested that the firm could potentially be hired as a consultant to the minister under the Ministerial Code of Conduct.
Mr Roban rejected the idea, stating it was “not appropriate for this contract”.
The minister wrote: “The matters we want Diplomatic Enterprises to address are critical for us to get our message across and government policy objectives accomplished.”
Mr Roban wrote that he assumed the Deputy Solicitor-General had not identified any “legal impediments” but if she had, “myself, you and [her] will meet first thing Wednesday morning. If she has not, then follow my directions and instructions to have contract completed and signed by end of day Wednesday”.
The contract with Diplomatic Enterprises — comprising a $10,000 retainer plus $75,000 to be “paid in accordance with deliverables” — was signed on November 21 and ended on April 30.
Mr Roban, also a former deputy premier, who retired at the General Election in February, declined to answer questions from the Gazette about why he picked the overseas company for a sole-source contract.
“I don’t really have anything to say about that particular contract,” he said during a phone call on July 14. “I would suggest reaching out to the former permanent secretary.”
Mr Roban said he did not sign anything in relation to the contract, stating it was the responsibility of the permanent secretary.
However, the Pati disclosure includes an approval form for goods and services in excess of $50,000, signed by the Minister of Home Affairs.
Taxpayers read about the awarding of a government PR contract to US firm Diplomatic Enterprises in March, when a notice appeared in the Official Gazette several months after the agreement began.
The timing of the notice, soon after the Throne Speech, was criticised in a March 27 e-mail sent by Nea Talbot, the director of the Department of Communications, to civil servants after she received a press query from The Royal Gazette.
Her e-mail is contained in a public access to information disclosure from the home affairs ministry.
Ms Talbot wrote: “The timing of this is all wrong. Not sure who sanctioned this information to be uploaded on the Official Gazette yesterday, but it is suspect.
“The minister is having a press conference today and it’s regrettable that this will overshadow her briefing.
“She is prepared and has the info, but we won’t be issuing anything until after the press conf.”
Alexa Lightbourne, who succeeded Walter Roban as home affairs minister after the General Election, spoke on her ministry’s Throne Speech initiatives to the media later that day.
Ms Talbot did not respond to a question last week about why she viewed the timing of the notice as suspect.
The home affairs ministry said in a statement on July 15 that “in accordance with government protocols, all contract disclosures are customarily published by the end of the calendar year or by the end of the following month, in this case December 2024 or January 2025”.
Another e-mail in the Pati disclosure contains information on why additional PR support for the communications department was deemed necessary.
Andrew Pettit, the home affairs ministry’s permanent secretary at the time, wrote to a colleague about an “urgent need regarding a number of significant projects/programmes that require public consultation and engagement”.
He added: “I have had several discussions with our DCI officer and it is apparent that DCI would be challenged to provide the level of assistance required for these projects.”
Diplomatic Enterprises got a $10,000 retainer and was to be paid another $75,000 if it achieved its deliverables, which included communications strategies for initiatives such as Bermuda’s proposed Caricom membership, tackling climate change, eliminating single-use plastics and the Government’s marine prosperity plan.
It was tasked with producing a comprehensive media strategy document within 30 days of starting work and producing monthly media coverage and social-media analytics reports, crisis communication plans and a weekly social-media content calendar.
The Pati disclosure shows that Mr Pettit sought advice from the Office of Project Management and Procurement on the awarding of the contract to Diplomatic Enterprises without a tender process.
The initial advice was that, as it was a “low-value procurement”, he should obtain three quotes, with sole-source waivers given only in exceptional circumstances.
Elaine Blair-Christopher, the director of the OPMP, confirmed on November 1 that media and PR contracts were exempt from procurement rules, but advised him: “I would recommend you discuss these requirements with the Director of Communication[s], she is government’s media expert.
“She may have some advice on potential local media firms who may be able to do this work vs using an overseas firm.”
The OPMP director told the permanent secretary to follow the process to get a single-source waiver approved, stating that a rationale for the selection of Diplomatic Enterprises “must” be provided.
Nothing in the disclosure reveals why the company was preferred over local firms, but the home affairs ministry said in a statement on July 15: “To ensure access to the best available global perspectives, it’s not uncommon for the Government of Bermuda to work with international vendors to support the delivery of high-quality outcomes for the public.”
The ministry did not respond directly to several questions from the Gazette. Its statement said the firm was engaged for a “short-term series of specific projects” and the hire was overseen by Mr Roban and his permanent secretary.
“There are no current contracts between Diplomatic Enterprises LLC and the Government of Bermuda.
“As with all government engagements, procurement protocols were followed, including consultation with the Office of Project Management and Procurement.
“The project adhered to the OPMP’s code of practice for the procurement of external media and communications services.”
The statement added: “Any further information related to this matter [is] best addressed by the relevant officials who oversaw this project at the time.”
Mr Pettit was offered the opportunity to comment but provided none.
Mr Mitchell, the CEO of Diplomatic Enterprises, did not respond to e-mails and phone calls from the Gazette.
The North Carolina firm hired to do strategic PR work for various home affairs ministry initiatives appears to have previously worked for a Bermudian client.
Diplomatic Enterprises was referenced by local rapper Kid Clazzic, aka Jahroy Richards, as his “marketing team” in a 2016 interview with the Gazette.
The firm, run by lawyer Clinton Mitchell, advertises itself as specialising in “creating custom strategic plans for formalising business operations, launching a business, increasing revenue and profit margins and entering new markets to help maintain and expand a mature business”.
Its website refers to its clients as having partnered with firms such as Amazon, ESPN, Macy’s, Target and Facebook, while Mr Mitchell lists his primary areas of expertise as including branding, legal consulting, business operations, sports and entertainment.
On October 3 last year, Mr Mitchell sent Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs at the time, a proposal for “enhanced media and communications support” following “our recent discussions regarding your communications needs”.
The minister asked Andrew Pettit, who was then the ministry’s permanent secretary, to hire the company to start work just a few weeks later.
For due diligence, the PS asked Mr Mitchell for details about other “government-related media consultancy” work the company had done.
Mr Mitchell responded with a letter listing various clients, including the Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity Programme for Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories run by the French public agency Expertise France.
The disclosure shows that a home affairs policy analyst asked Expertise France for a reference but it had no knowledge of Diplomatic Enterprises or Mr Mitchell.
Mr Mitchell explained to the permanent secretary that the experience could be “directly attributed” to a member of his team who was “tentatively assigned” to work on the home affairs contract.
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