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Beware the Trojan Horse @Ministry of Education

  One of the many observations made about the “useless” Auditor General reports is that the obvious corruption exposed private sector players to have been involved in questionable government contracts. Regrettably malfeasance in public office is endemic to how many governments govern in the region. Some will say it is the lure that attracts members…

 

One of the many observations made about the “useless” Auditor General reports is that the obvious corruption exposed private sector players to have been involved in questionable government contracts. Regrettably malfeasance in public office is endemic to how many governments govern in the region. Some will say it is the lure that attracts members to the political class.

In 2019 there was a debated issue in Antigua around a flawed procedure followed in the acquisition of 6000 e-books for $9 million used in secondary schools. The supplier in the matter was an Indian firm, FortunaPix. At issue was a license fee per user in the amount of $5 million not brought to the attention of the Cabinet of Antigua when the matter was considered for approval. This issue reminded the blogmaster about an issue raised by the Auditor General of Barbados regarding the inability of the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) to have meters read wirelessly – 2019 Auditor General Report Provokes a Yawn.

It was reported in Barbados this week 5th formers and teachers preparing for CXC CSEC exams next month will be able to access an application known as LernPrep for free up to July 31, 2020. The supplier of the App, FortunaPIX.

Fifth-form students preparing for CXC CSEC final exams in July, now have some help thanks to a collaboration between the Ministry of Education and US-based digital education company, FortunaPIX.

Students and teachers may now access the CSEC Exam App, known as LernPrep, free of cost until July 31. The test preparatory app is a product of OneLern, a brand owned by FortunaPIX.

See CBC Barbados report – Free CXC CSEC Exam App Launched In Barbados

Here are a few questions that spring to mind to what looks like a ‘sweet’ deal.

  1. The free partnership expires on July 31, 2020. What happens next?
  2. The partnership was consummated by Radleigh Consulting…a company responsible for “business and investment” NOT education. Can Barbadians expect an explanation about the “fit for purpose” capability of Radleigh Consulting?
  3. As for FortunaPix, will they be looking to send the Government of Barbados an invoice like they did Antigua and Barbuda recently? See – https://gemreportunesco.wordpress.com/2019/02/08/an-e-textbook-scandal-rocks-antigua/

With a revenue of $21M and “island connections” it cannot be that hard for outside investors to get a foothold in the Caribbean market at this time of need. Especially with the reluctance by government to operationalize Integrity Legislation. Is this another case of all that glitters is not gold?

 

123 responses to “Beware the Trojan Horse @Ministry of Education”

  1. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Who are the principals behind Radleigh Consulting? Where are they based? What was their introductory fee? Why does Barbados (Caricom) need an education app from a ‘Indian@ company?
    At this stage in our development we should be able to develop our own apps. What is the deal with Fortunapix after July 31? Who introduced Radleigh Consulting to the Ministry of Education? Why is the prime minister of Barbados giving them a reference? Is this normal?
    Every policy initiative by this government confirms that we are a failed state. It is going to end in t ears.

  2. Critical Analyzer Avatar
    Critical Analyzer

    ‘the “useless” Auditor General reports’ are not useless. Auditing is probably the only profession left that has improved on their integrity out of pure necessity. They must maintain their reputation by consistently producing accurate reports otherwise they will not get work.

    Blame needs to be placed squarely on the shoulders of those with the power to do something about the reports and don’t. If you own a house and ask an engineer to do an assessment on your roof and he says your roof has in holes that need fixing, are you going to blame the owner or the engineer when the rain pours and you get soaked siting on your sofa watching TV?

    The only solution is to re-examine the procurement process, plug the loopholes and start dishing out partial or total loss of future pension depending on the severity of the breaches of the process.

  3. BDLP Corruption Avatar
    BDLP Corruption

    DID THIS CONTRACT GO OUT TO TENDER? Who got a cut?

    The Caribbean has always been an exciting and viable destination to set up an off shore business, a corporate hub to launch into the North American and Latin worlds or to simply a destination to relocate for a better quality of life.

    The economies in the Caribbean are all experiencing an upshift, and these small island states are slowly increasing their ranks in global business and economic indicators, attracting more and more foreign direct investment to their shores.

    However, unless you know how to navigate the peculiarities of doing business or relocating to the Caribbean, processes, approvals, and applications may take longer than anticipated. Once you are here, having a friend on island to show you the ropes always helps.

    Through our network, clients will have immediate access to key decision makers and the top local and international executives operating or living in the region to navigate through these (what may seem rough) Caribbean seas.

    Headquartered in Barbados, Radleigh Consulting can help launch any business in the English speaking Caribbean. With a strong focus on legal and tax advice, corporate services, strategic communications, media relations, marketing and crisis management, Radleigh Consulting can be there every step of the way, ensuring that you are linked with only the very best.

  4. Friends & Family Avatar
    Friends & Family

    She is well connected as PM friend and Jessica Odle-Basil friend https://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/82167/barbados-hospice

  5. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @BDLP

    From the names of the principals of Radleigh they seem to be offering services they are not qualified to give. Why does the government of Barbados need so many ‘consultants’ to carry out roles that a 25000-strong civil service should be more than capable of doing?
    We need to challenge these government decisions in court.

  6. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Is Jessica Odle related to Tudor the undertakers? Who is this Sodeen woman?

  7. John Avatar
    John

    State capitalism … fascism!!!

  8. John Avatar
    John

    Can’t be anything other than be corrupt so what’s new.

  9. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    It is an app, with free access ending July 31st. CXC ends the first week in August. I would assume and hope that being an app (part of a full suite of online learning apps that is accessible from anywhere in the world) it would be available for purchase by all CXC students across the Caribbean going forward.
    The government would have been silly to tender, rather than go directly to a firm with a track record in learning apps, given the urgency–CXC exams start July 14th. Did they tender for the Harrison Point facility? No, and for obvious and similar reasons!
    The Radleigh people are not building the app, therefore why must they be experts in education? This is hilarious coming on a blog where most are experts in everything.
    Seeking clarity on what “facilitated” means, however, is valid.

  10. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    anytime you see consultancy groups popping up for services that can be done locally, look out, stealing is being legitimised.

    these are old tricks. bring in a group to consult, pay them an exorbitant fee for services that purportedly cannot be sourced locally, you get a 10% fee later down the line, they get their normal fee or a slight enhancement, you find positions for your lackeys and then call that wally.

    this is the template for this Govt.

    we will also see this when BWA announce its investigation into the malfeasance

  11. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    Enuff June 20, 2020 6:46 AM

    Those are rather ‘richly’ informed comments coming from a man who claims no connections to or hands-on awareness of the inner workings and decision-making processes conducted under the current administration.

    BTW, how come you have so much time on your hands to get so deeply ‘involved’ in such miniscule matters when you should be in the chair at those high-level meetings to discuss the erection of 35 storey buildings while you remain taciturn as a town rat in the act of climbing the Bajan erection called Lord Nelson in broad daylight?

    But we forget that you are a man of many talents capable of lying in any bed to satisfy his political desires.

    We are surprised you haven’t seen how your master, the multi-millionaire MAM No.2 has gone and put his money in another cookie jar of broken investments. Now where does that leave the erection of the Lighthouse on the Bay but in the dark??

    We will leave you lot of deceitful MFs to the likes of Adonijah and his Rasta brethren!

  12. David Avatar
    David

    …this is the template for this Govt.

    we will also see this when BWA announce its investigation into the malfeasance…

    Correction, this has been the template for all our governments.

  13. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    a way to get around the tendering process is to send out request for proposal (RFP) targeted at businesses which are considered leaders in the particular area you want to do business. inform them about what you are striving for and then they send you their business proposal as to how this can be achieved.

    on the surface this sounds good and above board. dig deeper and you will see Govts either hiring a particular company to structure the RFP (as Govt claims it has no personnel who could so do) or constructing the RFP is such a way that only a certain company (often which is affiliated with the minister and or friends) can meet the requirements.

    often the company which structured the RFP will have a clause in its present contract that says nothing in its present contract should preclude it from bidding for substantive contract which it is now structuring. in other words – it can answer the RFP that it is now completing.

    Govt often claims it has to do this because it is rushed for time, the normal tendering process is too cumbersome, and there is no one in the country that could do the job. about 1% of such claims are correct.

  14. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    (Quote):
    this is the template for this Govt. (Unquote).
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    A template inherited by the previous DLP administration from the OSA regime and now easily adopted and adapted to fit the agenda of the current one.

    Isn’t it the same MO Donville employed too often and got his ‘left’ hand stuck in the kickback cookie jar made of too much ste(a]l smelted in the US of A?

  15. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    David,

    as far as i am aware ‘all our Govts’ are now in power at this time. that notwithstanding, wasnt this Govt elected to break this cycle?

  16. TheOgazerts Avatar
    TheOgazerts

    “The government would have been silly to tender, rather than go directly to a firm with a track record in learning apps, given the urgency–CXC exams start July 14th. Did they tender for the Harrison Point facility? No, and for obvious and similar reasons!”

    Here they come again with the expertise and the urgency….

    Do you remember how quickly a deal was signed with White Hoax just after the elections? How urgent and pressing it was to have this deal? One would have to be a fool to believe that the search was started after May 24.
    More importantly, do you recall how one of the justifications for White Hoax was their impressive expertise in debt reconstruction?

    Well it looks as if they dusted off that old explanation, removed the name White Hoax and replaced it with FortunaPix and sent out the same apologists to start the ball rolling.
    Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice shame on me; what do they say about fool me thrice? Are we going to turn the other cheek seventy times seven?

    Here’s their 1, 2, 3, 4 plan.. urgency, expertise, Enuff, and then the rest of the Mugabe Defense force.

    Enuff of that.

  17. David Avatar
    David

    Why would this government deal with a company cast under a cloud in another island. The land of the former Birds. Even if the Indian company is bona fides the optics man from a government that promised THE COVENANT OF HOPE man!

  18. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Greene
    RFPs can also lead to cartels. Company officials talk to each other. This is a problem with rules-based regulation. What is needed is a principles-based public sector, so that people masquerading as so-called ‘consultants’ (in the UK consultants are middle class people without a proper job, they are business pimps, really), cannot interject in every aspect of government business. It is not a free service, they add their bit on top of the charges.
    A properly constituted civil service can provide expert advice to ministers; if ministers ignore advice from their civil servants then they should be asked to explain.
    Education is sour core product for the development of Barbados. In 2020 we should not be bashing our heads against a brick wall about our young people’s education.
    This is a further sign, if proof was needed, of a lack of strategic vision, leadership and transparency. These are the symptoms of a failed government.

  19. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    David,
    the short answer is that it knows it can work with this company to achieve the results it desires. recommendations would have been sought from Govt representatives in Antigua. politicians have their network like everybody else.

  20. David Avatar
    David

    It would be interesting to find out who did the due diligence if it was done or alternatively who recommended the Indian company. More importantly though, where is any attempt transparency.

  21. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    @Hal,

    agreed. havent heard that term ‘principal based’ since the FSA was absorbed by BOE.

    every one of my two cent mates have a consultancy. a real joke, they are. 99% of them are bollocks to fool the tax man, and Caribbean politicians because they want to be fooled.

    i am predicting that when the AG sets up his Integrity Unit it will be manned and or set up on recommendation from a British consultancy group and will be restructured 2 years after that.

    i also predict that the AG will set up this unit a year before the elections for a second term

  22. TheOgazerts Avatar
    TheOgazerts

    It’s a beautiful morning where I am.
    Soccer is back live again and even though they are dubbing it with the noise of the crowd it’s not he same.
    Have a great day Barbados.

  23. Wily Coyote Avatar
    Wily Coyote

    @David

    “due diligence”

    What makes you tink due diligence was not conducted. It would have went something like this. Company approaches high level civil servant, minister of government etc. to facilitate an idea for people to get some corrupt graft $. Now the due diligence starts, let’s approach known corrupt suppliers and see who’ll let us skim off the most for ourselves. Behind the scenes undocumented negotiations are now underway, expedience is primary as they do not want any leaks of info at this stage. Supplier(s) offering the best graft proposal given the nod, then a photo op and announcement of a GREAT DEAL THE HAS BEEN NEGOTIATED AND THE EXTREME BENEFITS TO THE COUNTRY. Several new Mercedes purchased, houses renovated etc.

    SAME OLD SAME OLD.

  24. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ TheOgazerts June 20, 2020 7:30 AM
    “Well it looks as if they dusted off that old explanation, removed the name White Hoax and replaced it with FortunaPix and sent out the same apologists to start the ball rolling.
    Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice shame on me; what do they say about fool me thrice? Are we going to turn the other cheek seventy times seven?”
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    You could have ‘hit’ serendipitously upon a hidden connection like the broken water mains of the BWA where all the consumers’ money goes.

    Why do you think the man with the affected accent dubbed the All Seasons slick(ed) hair back salesman is still around in the background as the Medici of Advisory & Consultancy services?

    If Hal A. was really worth his journalistic salt he would have been on to this investigative trail like a hungry Ivy road dog smelling out a discarded pilchard can.

  25. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    When you want to know about a company start by googling the name of the company.

    I spent half hour googling and so can you.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    There is no evidence that there is malfeasance with the deal only that it smells.

    @Khaleel, over to you.

  27. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Miller
    It is called RESEARCH! Note David refers to Khaleel for insider info, not me. FYI, the meetings this week were about a 40-storey and a 26-storey. If you’re going to be fixated on proving I am a liar….keep up!

  28. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    How many Caribbean educators were involved in creating the ” specifications ” for the “CSEC Exam App, known as LernPrep” ?

  29. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    The reactions here prove to me once again that we just oppose for opposing sake. In 2018, 237,245 students sat CSEC exams. CSEC exams is a yearly event. The app is free until July 31st. The more apps a developer has for Android/Apple the better for them. Go figure!

  30. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    There is a transparency element to the transaction not satisfied. What is the plan or expectation after July 31.

  31. David Avatar
    David

    Referring to the auditor general reports as useless was a reaction to rising of apathy and cynicism in the population about a check that is supposed to promote and protect good governance and it doesn’t. All governments members of the duopoly have failed at making it work. The time has come and gone to answer why.

  32. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ Enuff June 20, 2020 9:38 AM

    No Enuff, it’s not a ‘fixation’ but a checklist on your antecedents.

    From sitting in the decision-making room in awarding contracts to be vicariously transported to sit in some metropolis to sit in a high chair to pronounce upon the construction of 40 and 26 storeys of buildings made up of tall stories.

    What you are proffering to justify the absence of public tendering can also be applied to the nefarious deeds committed under the previous administration especially when it involved the ‘giving out’ of the BWA water and sewerage contracts.

    No one is against your blind support of any political party. Just don’t make yourself look like a bleeding fool by lying unnecessarily to justify any decision your political friends make, whether good or bad.

  33. TheOgazerts Avatar
    TheOgazerts

    Looks like the same old pattern

    First he/she rushes out with a weak defense and appears to indicate a sound knowledge pf the process or lack of process of selecting a company.

    Then the horde (MDF – Mugabe defense force arrives) and tells you who is a jackass, who is a D, who is supporting Caswell, the enemies list, and how great Mia is.

    Did you notice how they put up the bat light and called for Koochie Koo, Koochie Koo will then waste time and occupy the crease like he is a Geoffrey Boycott;

    Then the front man will do a superman/Clark Kent conversion and retreat claiming he/she has no insider information; he/she don’t know Mia, etc.

  34. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Nonsense about malfeasance. The basic fact that the ministry is interacting with a so-called consultancy is itself unethical. How many civil servants are there in the ministry? What unique information/knowledge did these so-called consultants bring to the table? What was their fee? Why is Ms Mottley giving them a reference? Is this a reference based on government work or is it a personal one?

  35. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    The opposition is once again continuing its campaign of lies. The image of our minister implies that she is caught up in corruption. We really should distance ourselves strongly from such statements!

  36. Sunshine Sunny Shine Avatar
    Sunshine Sunny Shine

    In Mia were transparency and good governance promised. It was a promise that was meant to ensure that the type of governance under the DLP, never, ever happens again. To this end, Mia ensured that her rhetoric kept in line with the upset nature of the masses.
    What happened to all the transparency, open governance, and keeping Bajans abreast with the manner in which the government undertake its financials. She is very much aware that the Auditor General reports do not paint a pretty picture of how each successive government has operated in cloak while their daggers pierced deeply into the treasury under the guise of various schemes intended to line pockets and make many merry.
    The fact that she has not done one shite to show that she will make the office of auditor general fitter and stronger to delve into the nasty doings of crooks on both sides, shows clearly that it makes no sense seeking to understand why 6 is half a dozen.
    As I have repeatedly said, I will give credit where credit is due, but when Mottley can fix it so that a statute of limitation protects the prominence, give tax breaks to help the relatives, and friends can get the constitution bent to accommodate their positions in the senate, neglecting the auditor general reports on the thieving and unaccountable financial nonsense that goes on in ministries, tells me that Mottley is simply the playing the game, pampering the asses of the foolish with pretty speeches, while the suffering grows and the pain increases.

  37. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @Sunshine

    The president has spent all her adult life aiming to be prime minister of Barbados. Now she has achieved her ambition, we now know there is nothing else to her.
    No vision, no idea of the kind of Barbados she would like to see. All she has done is moved on to bigger things – she now wants to be world class.
    Empty speeches, gesticulating, finger pointing, bogus claims, it all means nothing if it is not coming from a good place. Ask her if Black Lives Matter? As her if police officer Everton Gittens will face the courts?
    Part of this is that the BU commentariat has a very short attention span and Mottley knows this. @Mariposa we need you more than ever.

  38. Sunshine Sunny Shine Avatar
    Sunshine Sunny Shine

    Hal Austin

    You might just be right. How much time do you need to establish mechanisms to address the AG reports? The answer is no time at all because they will be no time spent on dealing with any of the issues coming forth from those reports. Compared that to the time it took Mottley to bestow her beloved with a Knighthood, change the constitution and give tax breaks is a clear indication that Mottley does not intend to address the brokenness in government finances. After all, the current set up is what got a lot of them rich beyond their wildest dreams. I am inclined, therefore, to say that Mottley is merely keeping up appearances while her base benefits, and begging- suffering idiots sing her praise.

  39. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    David
    “What is the plan or expectation after July 31.”

    Does CSEC end after July 31? Isn’t the app designed to prepare students for exams based on the CSEC curricula and questions from past papers (standard practice for Caribbean students preparing for CE, CSEC, CAPE, UWI etc)? Does it allow practice questions, instant feedback on scores, errors, correct responses etc? I must be misreading the purpose of apps and how they make money, if the plan going forward for this one is not obvious.

  40. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    Time will tell.

  41. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Miller
    “From sitting in the decision-making room in awarding contracts to be vicariously transported to sit in some metropolis to sit in a high chair to pronounce upon the construction of 40 and 26 storeys…”

    I don’t know what room I sat in when contracts were being awarded. Do remind me.🤔

  42. groslyn Avatar
    groslyn

    The possibility of victimization limits speaking out about the lack of adherence to Government’s financial rules which frustrates the auditor general’s purpose.
    We are caged animals assigned roles that seemingly we can never change unless we opt to leave the cage in an healthy or unhealthy state of mind or body.

  43. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    There are two ministries where any government, can breed corruption easily: Education which has been a cesspool of both professional and corporate corruption for decades. Going back decades ago to the textbook scam and more recently Edutech.
    Construction speaks for itself re: Mark Maloney ; spanning both major parties.
    The irony here being that we are vicious against the private sector for seeking work permits for jobs they claim they can’t find Bajans to do , while we turn a blind eye to governments spending millions to hire consultants for jobs , that you correctly noted, can be easily done by civil servants, whom we claim are lazy and have nothing to do.
    It has reached such a ridiculous stage that an independent candidate, in the last election, is now a consultant in the Ministry of Agriculture!
    “Garbage in garbage out“

  44. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    June 20, 2020 8:59 AM
    @ David
    You said
    “There is no evidence that there is malfeasance with the deal only that it smells.”

    So , pray tell old chap, what smells?
    BTW old buddy, if there is no malfeasance or evidence in the deal, why would it smell?

    “Things get curiouser and curiouser”
    ( Alice in Wonderland)

  45. David Avatar
    David

    It smells because we need to have been given more details by government officials about the deal. Do you know that malfeasance took place William?

    >

  46. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    over the last 20 years the term consultant has been degraded to the extent that all it means is an independent agent who is used to bypass the normal workers in the civil service so as not to pay benefits and through whom one can facilitate graft.

    in a place like Bim where there is an army of civil workers of all kinds when you hear the Govt is hiring consultants in the form of gurus, czars and other hangers-on, beware, the deck is stacked and in more ways than one

  47. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William
    There is an absence of ethical behaviour in our politics and a deference by our citizens that is terrifying. We allow politicians to promise us the moon when campaigning and, when in office, proceed to pilfer the national exchequer as if it is their ATM.
    They share out jobs to family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues and supporters as if jobs were going out of turn a blind eye to the unethical, often criminal, behaviour of their friends and fellow parliamentarians, yet the people remain silent. We get the governments we vote for, even if not what we deserve.
    @William, education, as you know, is our most important institution, the foundation of our future, yet party after party, government after government, Bees after Dees, have continued to neglect it.
    They do so for a number of reasons. First, because it does not impact on them as a family; they send their children to Canada (a favourite with white Barbadians), the UK and US, to be educated, or at least for their higher education, and for their early years education, to private institutions in Barbados.
    The only way to stop this is by barring all privately educated children from being eligible for Barbados scholarships and other national awards. Once you have done this, the educated and articulate middle class professionals who would drive up the standards in our schools will come out campaigning, rather than keeping quiet.
    Until then, it is a dog eat dog world; crabs in a barrel; a social Darwinian survival of the fittest and best connected.

  48. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    June 21, 2020 7:13 AM
    @ David
    You wrote:
    “It smells because we need to have been given more details by government officials about the deal. Do you know that malfeasance took place William?“

    No, no, no, no.

    That’s why I asked.

  49. David Avatar
    David

    Barbadians as a matter of routine must ask questions, probe the issues, constantly call our officials to account. We tend the cherrypick issues based on what?

    The rise of citizen journalism continues to embarrass the fourth estate.

  50. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    Imagine that people can pay $4000 to send little Jonnie to a private school
    then the masses whom littleJonniee is taught to avoid have to facilitate his secondary education at the best public grammar schools in the country. Little Johnny then goes on to the UWI and then again the same masses , sweltering in the heat of the minibus; dilapidated houses and working for less than $300 BDS per week underwrites his education.
    In the meantime , we talk about equality and a level playing field.
    No wonder then , that Comrade Trevor Prescod, a government minister, recently said that the poor are getting poorer and of course that was a serious indictment of his government ,after two years in office but who pays attention to such statements.
    On June 3rd Nation newspaper Comrade Prescod said:
    “….. poverty was increasing and that some low-income workers were resorting to building plywood houses
    …..there is a necessity for a building code ….but in a very pragmatic sense what I am experiencing is because of all that is happening around us ; the society is being driven back into abject poverty”

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