Courtney Benn Contracting Services, the company awarded a contract for the re-construction of St Rose’s High School, has begun moving materials onto the site.
As of last week several construction piles had been placed on the location and two workmen were on site, the company however has not commented on why these efforts have come nearly two years after the contract was awarded.
Last week Stabroek News reached out to the company for comment on the matter and was told that all managers were in a meeting. Despite leaving a message with questions and contact information no response was received.
In his 2019 report, Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma had advised the Ministry of Education to terminate the more than $350 million contract for the construction of the school after the contractor failed to complete the work more than a year after the award.
Sharma stated that the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board had awarded a contract in the sum of $352.710 million for construction of the school along Church Street but though the contractor received an advance payment of $52.906 million followed by one interim payment of $5.186 million, no work has been completed.
“At the time of reporting the Advance Payment was not recovered [and] based on an examination of the contract and a physical verification of completed works, measurements and calculations [it] was discovered that…the site was abandoned and overrun with bushes. No equipment or materials were on site, while the only personnel from the contractor present was a security guard,” the report said.
The AG’s report highlighted that no details regarding the advertisement for the works or Evaluation Report were presented for audit examination and therefore the Audit Office was unable to determine when the works were advertised and the basis of award of the contract.
Additionally, the engineer’s estimate could not be determined from the documents submitted for audit examination and while the Notification of Award was sent to the contractor since 24 April 2018, the contract, for reasons which remain unclear, was signed four months later on 8 August 2018.
Though the ministry’s Permanent Secretary has attempted to explain that discrepancy as due to a design review, the AG has recommended that the payment be recovered and the contract terminated.
Stabroek News reached out to the Permanent Secretary for an explanation of the delay and or comment on any action taken to remedy the matter but efforts proved futile.
This newspaper was told by a representative of the office that the “PS is not available to comment on that issue.”
