Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Kellawan Lall and a team hosted meetings with Region Nine officers to update them on new bidding and other procedures for works during a three-day visit to the area.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release the team also included Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Sewchan, Regional Chairman Clarindo Lucas, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Donald Gajraj and other officials. Meetings were held with the various heads of departments in the education, health and public works sectors, representatives of the region’s Public Works Committee and representatives of the region’s Neighbourhood Demo-cratic Council.
GINA said the heads were informed of the new tender process and civil works tender documents. “Standard Bidding” documents for contractors and consultants who procure goods and services on government’s behalf were introduced to correct bottlenecks in the system and promote accountability and transparency. Several consultations had been held with accounting officers, permanent secretaries, REOs, contractors and consultants at the Guyana International Conference Centre on April 2, 14 and 15 to update them on the new initiatives and garner feedback to make adjustments to the procurement and tender process.
Following those sessions, Lall has been meeting with regional officials to ensure that the new procedures are in place. He said under the new requirements government “will not be going for three quotations anymore,” and pointed out that all tender documents should be sealed and put into the tender box. Lall urged the officials to ensure that contractors complete their work within the specified time in order to avoid variations. He said over the years extensions have cost government billions of dollars and warned that disciplinary action will be taken against persons who try to compromise the system. The minister also underscored the need for the various heads to take an interest in civil works as it will inform their ability to manage their works programme more effectively.
According to GINA the region has a total budgetary allocation of over $917M this year. More than $200M of it is expected to be spent on capital works. This includes construction, extensions and rehabilitation of new and existing infrastructure such as bridges, schools, roads and health facilities.
