Cabinet’s intervention in awarding a US$57.6 million contract for the East Coast Demerara highway project to China Railway First Group is in violation of the extant law and has sparked outrage from the two parliamentary opposition groups.
Stabroek News reported in yesterday’s edition that the government sidelined a proposal made by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) and gave instructions for an award and subsequent no-objection to the firm based upon lobbying by a former senior member of government.
The government was yesterday silent on the report in Stabroek News. Observers say that the Cabinet intervention is the starkest manifestation yet of the irregular dealings that the PPP/C government has engaged in over procurement. In this particular case sources say it was meant to favour China Railway First Group Co. Ltd as the government wants to