UK company with no listed construction experience given local contract!
During an appearance on the radio show Honestly Speaking with Claude O. Skelton-Cline on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, Commissioner Matthews, when asked about the status and slow execution of the repair and reconstruction of the police facilities said the “request for proposal was issued in the United Kingdom (UK) and a UK company, Axiom International was awarded the contract.”
Commissioner Matthews went on to say that the company also has the responsibility of engaging “local contractors and provide oversight and accountability for the execution of works.”
However, Axiom International, according to their website, indicates that their core business is ‘Global Specialist in Forensic Science, Police, Criminal Justice and National Security’. The company was founded in 2010 and Lord John Stevens is profiled as one of the Principals, and appears to have no experience in construction.
Our research also shows nowhere in their business model does the company show any expertise in the construction field. This has led to questions by members of the public as to why companies in the Virgin Islands (VI) were not made aware of the availability of the contract, and how the outsourcing of the contract to an overseas firm provides proves more efficient.
Notwithstanding, the UK government provided the funds and have promised through the Governor’s Office that local companies will be directly involved in the rebuilding process.
Concerns have also been raised as to the supervision and auditing of the works to be executed by the company, as the UK has been touting transparency, accountability, and good governance.
Double standards?
Jennet B. Williams, of Spy Glass Hill on the western end of Tortola, in commenting on the issue said “this model does not reflect good governance, or is it that the UK would have us to believe it is their funding, hence we do not have a right or a need to know how they are operating in our Territory?”
She also questioned the Government’s role in the matter, asking “where is our elected government in all of this? It appears they continue to be sidelined."
23 Responses to “UK company with no listed construction experience given local contract!”
Which means the U.K Govt hire them and they hire the local contractors- but not sure why they didn’t use a local project management company?
Oh yes! It appears as long as you are from Europe you are automatically a professional. I will like to inform you this is not true. Some of them have Phd. MBA. BA etc. and they cannot do the job. Ah matter of fact, they don't know anything pertaining to their degree. BVI, wiseup please review these so call well paid experts; There are locals or even Caribbean nationals who are more than capable.
Axiom is a security contractor that works with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in regards to security related projects. The project in the BVI is the re-building of several RVIPF stations to provide stronger and more secure police stations. Axiom is the designer and general contractor for these new police stations. Axiom would hire local contractors to perform various parts of the construction but not all the construction due to security reasons.
Get mad or not. I am happy to see money go elsewhere and not in the NDP club. They getting everything and now police gone international ayo crying fowl.
Go look for the millions upon millions this NDP government allegedly squander off with peddle back funds turning politicians into millionaire and boasting in the HOA as if them is God's gift to us.
We allowing this crap to happen by our own to us. So what if a UK company get a contract.
Hypocrisy at its best sah
Nothing to do with construction, everything to do with observing people. No joke. BP even hired them to
watch their pipeline in the far north. They also make very un-intelligent mistakes.
A new directon of development is needed for those critical, needed areas of human development.