Bahamas Minister ‘Forgets’ Lost Repair Money

Politics: Bahamas

A Bahamian minister says she has put public money lost to missing home-repair contractors in “the sea of forgetfulness”, and the opposition is demanding answers. Lisa Rahming, the Minister of Urban Renewal and Community Relations, said so in Nassau, the capital, on Thursday 12 November 2026, while widening a home-repair scheme to more islands.

What the Minister Said

Rahming spoke to reporters at the Office of the Prime Minister in Nassau on Thursday 12 November 2026, while announcing that the Small Home Repair Programme expands to more islands. She leads the Ministry of Urban Renewal and Community Relations, the government department behind the scheme.

She said some contractors who received money under the programme could not be found afterwards: “we had some who took the money and we couldn’t find them.” She said that is why the ministry held a contractors’ workshop.

Rahming said she had put the missing money in “the sea of forgetfulness”. She presented it as a clean slate, recounting a message to contractors in August: “everybody, we start at an A grade.”

She also said contractors who take government funding and go away would be placed on a blacklist kept by the Ministry of Works, a government department, though she said no list exists yet. “Nothing is paid until the homeowner signs and says she is satisfied,” she said.

Another report on the briefing says contractors receive a 40 percent start-up payment and the remaining 60 percent after inspection and homeowner sign-off. That sits uneasily with her line that nothing is paid until the owner signs, and we could not reconcile them.

Rahming said on Thursday 12 November that repairs this fiscal year have cost B$500,000 (about US$500,000). They cover 41 homes on New Providence, the island where Nassau stands, and 22 on Grand Bahama, she said.

The Bahamian dollar trades one for one with the US dollar, a parity the Central Bank of The Bahamas says has held since 1973. Rahming also said that 20 of the 41 contracted repairs have been completed, a figure we found in one set of reports only.

The government launched a Small Home Repair Programme in February 2020 to help owners repair damage from Hurricane Dorian, the 2019 storm, the Office of the Prime Minister says. The current scheme carries the same name, but we have not confirmed that it is identical.

What the Opposition Wants

Shanendon Cartwright, Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), the opposition party, answered in a statement published by 13 November 2026. He said a minister “has no right to simply ‘forget’ about public funds paid to contractors when the work they were contracted to perform has not been completed.”

“Public money is not personal money,” Cartwright said. He demanded to know who authorised the payments, whether the work was verified, and what steps were taken to recover the money.

He called for full disclosure of contracts, payments and outstanding work. He also asked for an independent review where warranted, and for recovery of funds improperly paid.

The two positions are clear, and they differ sharply. Rahming offers a clean slate, says payment follows homeowner sign-off and promises a blacklist for contractors who walk away, while Cartwright says the money already paid must be accounted for and recovered.

For who holds power in Nassau, see our explainer on key players in Bahamian politics. More is in our Bahamas news, and everyday prices are in our guide to the cost of living in the Bahamas.

What Happens Next

Rahming said on Thursday 12 November that the second round of work will include San Salvador, Eleuthera, Acklins, Crooked Island and North Andros. She said assessments for Acklins and Crooked Island are done, and for Eleuthera and North Andros as well.

The first checkpoint is teams on the ground in Acklins and Crooked Island before Christmas, the minister said. She gave no exact day, so the date is not confirmed.

The second checkpoint would be any disclosure or review of the lost money. We found no date set for either.

What Is Not Known

Rahming did not say how much money went to contractors who did not finish the work, and she said no blacklist exists yet. Cartwright’s questions on who authorised the payments and what recovery steps were taken are also unanswered in anything we found.

The reports we found do not explain how an up-front payment fits with her line that nothing is paid until the owner signs off. Whether any independent review will take place is also open.

What It Means for Readers

Homeowners on the islands in the second round face new repairs, where the minister says payment depends on the owner’s sign-off. Taxpayers fund the B$500,000 (about US$500,000) that she said on 12 November has been spent this year, but no figure has been given for the share lost.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the minister say about the lost money?

Lisa Rahming said on 12 November 2026 that some contractors “took the money” and could not be found afterwards. She said she had put the loss in “the sea of forgetfulness”.

What does the opposition want?

Shanendon Cartwright demanded to know who authorised the payments, whether the work was verified and what was done to recover the money. He also called for full disclosure of contracts and payments, and an independent review where warranted.

How much money was lost?

That is not known, because Rahming did not say how much went to contractors who left work unfinished. She said on 12 November that B$500,000 (about US$500,000) has been spent this fiscal year on repairs.