When the Stabroek Business learnt that an organization called the General Contractors Association of Guyana (GCAG) had been created we agreed to meet with members and – arising out of that meeting – to bring the existence of this organization to the attention of the public. This we did in a story published in last Friday’s issue.
We still know relatively little about this association, though that does not prevent us from seeing the potential of an organisation that says it seeks to serve as both an umbrella body and a voice for a number of sub-sectors that employ at least tens of thousands of Guyanese of various disciplines and supports more thousands of families. On the basis of the available evidence, the leadership of the GCAG comprises mostly small and medium-sized contractors, experienced men in their fields. One of the things that they have made clear is their intention to push for real change in the tender process for state contracts, persuaded as they appear to be that the deck is stacked heavily in favour of the bigger players. Nor, it appears, are they entirely convinced that, even now, a level playing field has materialized. Rather, they believe that it is something that they will have to work for.
In keeping with its promise that it is “operating for the benefit of builders, contractors and those engaged in allied industries” the GCAG has given the undertaking that it will, among other things, advocate for the review of national building codes and for the introduction of a Construction Industrial Licence Board. Additionally, the GCAG undertakes to introduce standardized grading of contractors, using the micro, small, medium and large formula.
It seeks to do more–over a two-year period–including lobbying for the introduction of Building Certificate courses and Safety and Health courses at tertiary institutions. The latter courses, particularly, would appear to be aimed at responding to publicly stated concerns regarding a lack of mindfulness in the construction sector about the safety of workers and the need for contractors to be more mindful of that particular obligation.
Perhaps the most eye-catching of the commitments given by the GCAG is its undertaking to “advocate for policies to be put in place to close the gap on income inequality in the industry through ‘no bid contracts’ by first, increasing the no-bid ceiling from $600,000.00 to $1.6 million. This undertaking would appear to be designed to create more opportunities for small contractors to secure greater volumes of small contracts as does its desire to see 40 per cent of emergency contracts and selective tenders channeled through the GCAG. One wonders, of course, whether these latter requirements might not see non-members of the GCAG crying foul.
Other undertakings to which the GCAG commits itself include lobbying for the implementation of policies to access funds for the mobilization and execution of projects and negotiating lines of credit with at least two financial institutions including the Small Business Bureau.
One would think that an efficient and well-structured umbrella body for Guyanese contractors can do the sector a power of good even though the objectives of this particular body appear more than a trifle ambitious at this time. It needs, in the first instance, to mobilize numbers to its membership that go beyond the 60-odd members which it says it currently has. More than that, it requires a settled structure, a secretariat and a body of skilled and committed functionaries who possess both the skills and the will to bring real change to the sector.
When this newspaper met with three of the members of the executive just over a week ago they appeared to have concerns about the functioning of the Tender Board and about the awarding of contracts associated with projects linked to the country’s golden jubilee anniversary celebrations, though it did not seem as though they had as yet fashioned any structured approach to addressing their concerns.
The point that should be made is that engaging government and other bureaucracies on sectoral matters requires skills that may not necessarily repose in the fraternity of contractors. Other private sector entities have passed that way before and there is precedent for creating cadres of the requisite skills to serve these institutions effectively. One assumes that the GCAG has given careful thought to the undertaking that it has set itself and understands the magnitude of the task ahead of it. Otherwise, it will probably not get very far.
