The Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill has terminated the contract valued at over $413 million for the rehabilitation of the Leguan Ferry Stelling in Region Three.
In a Ministry of Public Works release yesterday Edghill stated that prior to making his decision, on Thursday, he along with a team from the Transport and Harbours Department (TH&D) had met the residents of Leguan to listen to their concerns. A thorough review of the stelling works was also conducted.
The minister subsequently met with the contractor, S Maraj Contract-ing Services and team at his office yesterday. Also in attendance was the TH&D team. Edghill drew attention to a special report on the rehabilitation of the Leguan Ferry Stelling conducted by the Audit Office of Guyana which has determined that the contractor, S Maraj Contracting Ser-vices “is incapable, unable, and does not possess the wherewithal to successfully execute this project” valued at $413,259,260. The contract was inked during the tenure of the former Minister of Public Infra-structure, David Patterson.
According to the minister, the contractor received payments totalling $199,435,000, representing almost 50% of the contract sum. This was referred to as “an unheard of scenario that is outside of normal procurement practices,” a breach of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, an act he described as “a corrupt transaction.”
In addition, a contract that was signed on September 20, 2018 and should have been completed in six months received an advance payment on September 26, 2018, however, the contractor only received his order to commence works on December 6, 2018. This meant, the minister stressed, that the contractor was in possession of tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars for almost three months before being required to begin work. Further, the contract was expected to be completed by the June 7, 2019. Therefore, the project is currently 20 months beyond its completion date and by April 19, 2019, the advance payment bond as well as the performance bonds had expired.
And if that wasn’t enough, the contractor having received the contract for the building of a stelling pronounced the bill of quantities as faulty and by October 30, 2019 was given an additional $20,650,000 for the supply and delivery of piles for the same Leguan stelling. A clearly frustrated minister deemed it as “inconceivable” that a contract for the building of a stelling will not include the piles, one of the most important components for its construction.
And the complaints continued with the disclosure that the Auditor General has informed that at the time of the audit the contractor was paid for measured works but there was no measured works breakdown attached to the payment certificates. In addition, variations and change of scope of works could not have been measured and quantified since no documents were available and submitted. The Auditor General also indicated that payments made in some instances were in breach of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, leading Edghill to remark, “It was clear that there was poor contract administration and oversight.”
According to the re-lease, Edghill, on four separate occasions, met with the contractor and TH&D in an effort to have the project completed, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
“I have therefore ordered that in keeping with the contractual terms that this contract be immediately terminated and any adverse consequences resulting from this must be placed squarely at the feet of the David Granger APNU/AFC administration with David Patterson and Annette Ferguson as the gazetted Ministers responsible,” the minister declared.
In July, 2018, the TH&D published an Invitation for Bids (IFB) in the Guyana Chronicle for the rehabilitation of the Leguan Ferry Stelling. General Manager of the T&HD Marcelene Merchant had explained that major works would be done on the Leguan Stelling, which has been in a deplorable condition for years. According to an engineer’s estimate, which was presented to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) at the opening of bids on July 25, 2018, the rehabilitation would cost some $455.3 million. Ten local engineering and construction companies submitted bids for the project.
The contract for the upgrade of the stelling was awarded to S. Maraj Contracting Services in 2018 for $413.2 million. However, the project was plagued with complaints from residents that the planks used were encrusted with barnacles and they demanded the immediate removal of the infested wood.
Edghill expressed regret at what he termed was a “wastage of taxpayers’ money” and assured the residents of Leguan that every lawful procurement process will be taken to ensure that a contractor is engaged so that the construction of the stelling can be completed.
During Edghill’s visit on Thursday, the residents had also raised concerns over the Project Engineer supervising the construction of the stelling amongst other things.
The Minister then inquired as to when last the contractor was on site, it was then that he was informed by the project engineer Obrey Walcott that the contractor had not been on the project site for almost one week.
According to a release from the ministry on that visit, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Transport and Harbours Department, Rosalinda Rasul also posited that the project should have been completed a long time ago. Rasul then assured the residents that she and the other Directors will revisit the revised scope of work so as have the project completed in the shortest possible time.
