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The death of a landscape contractor in Bermuda struck by a large branch that fell from a tree he was helping to lop has brought renewed calls for stricter controls on the training and certification of workers involved in potentially dangerous jobs. The owners of two of the largest landscaping companies in Bermuda, along with a qualified tree care professional and trainer, say there needs to be proper regulation of the industry as happens in many other countries. The circumstances surrounding the death of the 34-year-old Portuguese man, believed to be a father-of-one with another child on the way, are still being investigated. He was killed while working on a casuarina tree in a garden. The tree was the last in a row that was being cut back by a team from Island Construction and Landscaping Services.
THE dearth of funds has been variously fingered as the major problem besetting the construction industry. The plethora of uncompleted and abandoned projects that dot the nation's landscape has often been traced to this factor. Indigenous construction companies have been worst hit, hence, many of them have folded up, giving way to multinational construction companies who are often backed financially by their home governments. Both the Federal and state governments have often hinged their preference for expatriate construction companies on the fact that their indigenous counterparts lack the equipment to execute complex jobs. But how can they effectively compete with these offshore funded companies when borrowing from commercial banks is usually at cut-throat interest rates. Built environment professionals who have been badly affected by this scenario have not rested on their oars in a bid to float a specialized bank that would be sympathetic to the cause of construction industry operators.
J-F Ahern is spending five (M) million dollars to expand its facility. Once completed next spring, the contractor plans to add another 165 jobs. C-E-O Tripp Ahern says its expansion is made possible by a strong industrial and commercial construction market in Wisconsin and the Midwest. J-F Ahren has branch offices in seven states, with its headquarters in Fond du Lac. (Thanks Bob Nelson, KFIZ Fond du Lac) Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. .
Contractor General Greg Christie has come under fire for his stance in the Sandals Whitehouse matter. In particular, a complaint he made that many public sector bodies flout government procurement guidelines and more still simply ignore requests made by the Office of the Contractor General for information that might reveal same. Amazingly, there are few, if any, sanctions and where they do exist, such measures are inconsequential. It's time our politicians move beyond setting up understaffed organisations with few resources and little actual power to fight the corruption they claim they so desperately want to get rid of. It's time they move beyond platitudes. - Archibald Gordon, skilarchie@hotmail.com. Christie's stance Contractor General Greg Christie told the Public Accounts Committee that he did not need to ask twice for information.
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