Dear Editor,
I refer to your news article, in the edition of Tuesday, February 21, captioned ‘Region 1 REO booted from PAC hearing over alleged attempt to mislead’, in which my client, Aruca Investments, has been named as a defaulting contractor.
Aruca Investments instructed me that it is still owed tens of millions of dollars by the Regional Administration and is not indebted to the Region as is alleged. For the year 2009 Aruca is owed the sum of $1,144,260.00 for work done on the extension of the Chinese Landing Primary School, $896,880.00 for the rehabilitation of Warapoka Teachers Quarters, and $887,166.00 for rehabilitation of the Lower Waini Teachers Quarters. Several demands were made for these payments and they remain outstanding. I am also advised that fraud may have been committed with the forging of the signature of the principal of Aruca to cash a cheque, a matter still unresolved.
For the year 2013 the Regional Administration still owes Aruca Investments the sum of $1,140,437.00, for the supply of goods and services. Likewise for the year 2014 the sum of $10,933,117.00, for the year 2015, the sum of $15,757,295.00 and for the year 2016, the sum of $55,716,436.00. All for the supply of goods and services.
Additionally, Aruca Investments is owed the sum of $4,630,454.00 for the completion of works at Tobago Primary and Kamwatta Sanitation Block, in 2015.
You may ask the question why would a supplier/contractor, continue to do work when not paid for the previous year’s work. The answer lies in the way the public procurement system works. A supplier/contractor runs the risk of being replaced by others if it does not tender for contracts in the current year; so it tenders again, hoping that the previous year’s outstanding balances will be resolved. But the absence of an efficient dispute resolution mechanism, leads to year after year payments not being made, and disputes left unresolved.
Aruca Investments finds itself in such a situation and unfortunately was erroneously named as a defaulting contractor that is still working in Region 1, when this is clearly not the case.
My client remains agreeable to meet with any entity to rectify all discrepancies soonest, and believes that it has been wrongly named as a defaulting contractor when it is the state which owes it tens of millions of dollars.
Yours faithfully,
Jerome Khan
Attorney-at-Law
For Aruca Investments
