Fahy alleges ‘lack of transparency’ on housing visits
Opposition MP Michael Fahy has questioned why a visit abroad by the housing minister to a construction firm to discuss a possible government contract was not disclosed in response to parliamentary questions.
Mr Fahy asked Zane DeSilva for details of every trip to an overseas manufacturer made by his ministry’s affordable housing advisory committee as part of due diligence before contracts were awarded for the first phase of the Government’s $418.5 million new homes scheme.
The September 25 parliamentary response listed visits by AHAC representatives to Coastal Precast Systems, in Virginia, United States, and Preconco, in Barbados — the firms which soon after signed no-bid contracts with the Bermuda Land Management Corporation to build 194 units in Dockyard, Southampton and St David’s.
But it made no mention of a trip to Canada which Mr DeSilva, the Deputy Premier, disclosed at a public meeting in Southampton in June.
The minister told the meeting he paid himself for the trip to meet with the owners of a firm called Stack Modular, which is based in Vancouver.
His ministry later issued a statement saying Mr DeSilva wished to clarify he actually met with the head of Z Modular in Woodstock, Ontario, in February 2026, and “personally funded” the visit.
Mr Fahy asked: “Why the discrepancies? These are simple questions that should have simple answers. Is it deliberate or a mistake? This is for the public to decide.”
The One Bermuda Alliance MP said the parliamentary response should have listed every trip abroad made in connection with Phase 1, regardless of whether or not it was taxpayer-funded.
He said there “appeared to be a lack of transparency” and “just not enough information”.
A planning application for affordable housing at Victoria Place in Dockyard was approved by the Development Applications Board on Wednesday [October 21].
The proposal was for three three-storey buildings on Cochrane Road, creating 12 two-bedroom and 24 three-bedroom units, with associated infrastructure, parking for 53 cars/50 bikes, landscaping, a playground and communal waste facilities.
The development will form part of Phase 1 of the Government’s $418.5 million new homes plan and will be built by Coastal Precast Systems, of Virginia, United States under a $64 million no-bid contract.
The board wrote that the prefabricated system being employed for the development was “intended to keep costs at a minimum in order to meet the urgent need identified by the Ministry of Housing and Municipalities to provide low-cost housing.
“This has resulted in a development proposal of utilitarian design which would pose some adverse visual impacts on the local area.
“However, given the social benefits of the proposal as well as the acceptability of the proposal against all other considerations set out above, the proposal is, on balance, considered to be acceptable.”
The application was submitted on June 19.
• To view the DAB report, see Related Media
The AHAC was given a “strict mandate” by Mr DeSilva, according to an internal memo released under public access to information, to “deliver as many quality, resilient homes as possible within a 24-month period at a target budget baseline of $500 per square foot”.
The parliamentary response said the AHAC evaluated nine international firms — Bauhu, CPS, Cosmos, Forsa, MICEM, Preconco, RAD, Stack and Z Modular — specialising in “rapid-deployment” housing and did site visits to CPS and Preconco after they were shortlisted “as part of the supplier capability verification process”.
A table was provided in the response listing the costs per square foot for each firm.
CPS’s cost per square foot for 84 units for Dockyard and St David’s was $416.
However, at a groundbreaking ceremony at Albert Row in Dockyard last week, where CPS will build 24 two-bedroom homes, Mr DeSilva said each 950-square-foot unit would cost $745,000, which equates to $784 per square foot.
Asked about it after a press conference yesterday, the minister disputed the $784/sq ft figure, stating that the Albert Row project fitted with his earlier target.
The parliamentary response showed Stack as having the lowest cost per square foot of $210 for 110 units at Dr Cann Park in Southampton, while Preconco was $248 per square foot.
However, Stack was ruled out because of several concerns, according to the response, including an insufficient “expected life span” for the units.
A vendor evaluation matrix accompanying the parliamentary response listed Stack’s guarantee as 30 years, although the firm gave a 60-year guarantee in its submissions to the Government’s Affordable Housing Strategy Consultation.
The parliamentary response said that, at the time the decision was made about contractors, the AHAC “had not been able to inspect a completed, operational example” of Stack’s product.
Elliott Wilson, Stack’s on-island agent, told The RoyalGazette in August: “Stack Modular’s quote for Phase 1 was half the price and a year quicker.”
The housing ministry was asked for comment for this article.
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