A $4.9M contract for the repair of a road at Mahdia was awarded last year and later “certified” by regional officials as having been completed however the Auditor General found that no work had been done.
This was among the findings in the 2011 Auditor General’s report which was recently tabled in Parliament. In its discussion of Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni), the report said that the contract was awarded to a sole bidder to the tune of $4.9M and that regional officials certified that the project had been “satisfactorily completed”. On this basis, the full contract sum was paid to the contractor. In its report, the Auditor General’s office said that a physical verification of the project showed that no work was done and as such the full project sum should be recovered.
When this was put to the region, it said that it “acknowledged this lapse, which is regretted and indicated that the works were presently ongoing by the contractor”.
The Audit Office’s recommendation was that the regional administration ensure that works are verified as having been completed before payments are made.
It would have meant that the contractor would have received the full sum without any work being done. Critics say this is the type of transaction that should have been further investigated by the Audit Office and dealt with more severely.
The PPP/C had full control of the Region in 2011. Since the general elections last year, it has lost control of the region and there has been a long-running battle between the regional council, which is opposition dominated, and the regional executive officer, who is appointed by the Local Government Ministry, over a variety of projects.
Among these projects are roads. It is unclear if these roads include the one mentioned in the Auditor General’s report where all the money was collected but no work done.
APNU MP Ronald Bulkan in an October 12, 2012 letter complained that despite government assurances that road repairs would be done from the Brian Sucre Junction to Mahdia this year, nothing was done.
A day later, Works Minister Robeson Benn responded by saying that the contract for repairs to the Mango Landing to Mahdia road was being finalized but in the meantime, remedial work would be done.
He said that the contract is being finalized “with respect to thoroughly repairing the road.” The minister said that some changes had to be made in terms of quantities and they had to ensure that the changes are accurate and will cover the work given that it would be difficult to make variations once the contract is signed.
The 2011 audit office report also homed in on a $2.6M contract for the repair of the Mahdia dorms. It found after a physical verification that an overpayment of $1.6M (61%) had been made i.e. only $1M in works had been done.
When asked for an explanation, the region said “the overpayments were investigated and it was found that those with respect to the variation were as a result of poor documentation on the part of the administration. As such, the administration is making every effort to locate and present the relevant documentations for audit inspection and recover the additional amount overpaid”.
A $2.46M contract for the repair of the Kako Cottage Hospital fence also saw an overpayment of $616,000 (24.3%). Again, the region acknowledged the overpayment and promised to recoup.
