Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Jermaine Figueira says the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) should provide answers on the award of the Bamia school contract to St8ment Investment Inc, a company with no construction experience.
Figueira, during a break at the PAC sitting yesterday at the Public Buildings on Brickdam, spoke on the matter.
He said that “…the Company has not been registered for more than six months so one begs to question whether they are in breach of the Public Procurement Act. I want to know what the national tender board’s position on that is… The contractor in this regard, who would have won that contract has no known public knowledge with respect to having a contract of that magnitude to construct any building of that magnitude…”
Figueira also questioned whether pricing was the only factor that gave the company the advantage of winning the contract as they would have bid against experienced contractors.
“…it is a matter of concern being a company so young with no experience and being given such a multi-million dollar project”, he emphasised.
Figueira added that constructing a building to house over 800 students plus teachers requires experienced persons. He said that the project will be looked at keenly and it is his hope that the contracted company procures the engineering expertise and delivers.
The PAC Chair added that while concerns linger in his mind, he is somewhat comforted by the fact that the company is being advised by geotechnical engineer Charles Ceres, who he said is one the best engineering minds in the country.
St8ment Investment Inc was awarded a $346 million contract for the construction of the Bamia Primary School in Linden. The announcement of the award has attracted much criticism from civil society.
Fellow bidder, Howard Bulkan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bulkan Timber Works Inc, has since questioned what exactly the NPTAB is evaluating when considering bids.
“St8ment Investment Inc was awarded the contract and I reckon in 20 months the public will judge for themselves if this was the correct decision by the Honourable Minister for Local Government and Community Development. I know the residents of Linden and the surrounding areas will be paying attention to the construction of this school,” Bulkan wrote in a letter to Stabroek News.
According to the tender documents seen by this newspaper, bidders were required to show that they had experience in work of similar scope. That requirement raised further questions about how a company without a track record could secure this project.
Bidders were required to include “…experience in works of a similar nature and size for each of the last five (5) years, and details of work underway or contractually committed.”
The tender document also asked bidders to provide a list of the qualifications and experience of the key personnel for the contract and noted that “subcontractors’ experiences and resources shall not be taken into account in determining the bidder’s compliance with the qualifying criteria unless otherwise stated in the BDS (Bidding Data Sheet)”. Additionally, the bidders were asked to show the monetary value of construction works performed over a five-year span along with audited financial statements for the last three years if they were an incorporated company.
St8ment was incorporated in March of this year and its principals are Rawle Ferguson and Kerwin Bollers, of Hits and Jams Entertainment along with Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major and Kashif Muhammed of the Kashif and Shanghai football tournament. The two groups have been closely linked to the ruling PPP/C government.
Since taking office, the PPP/C government has appointed Major as Chairman of the Guyana Tourism Authority while Muhammed is Chairman of the National Sports Commission’s board.
St8ment Investment is new in the industry and though its principals have claimed to be working on a housing project, they have not released any details about such.
The Bamia school project is being undertaken through the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and in July of this year, the bids were opened. Four companies – Bulkan Timber Works Inc ($349,595,065), St8ment Investment Inc ($346,327,748), Orin’s Supreme Enterprise ($348,726,772) and A Nazir & Son Contracting & General Supplies ($340,549,671) – bid for the project.
The contract was awarded to St8ment Investment Inc whose bid was $5,778,077 higher than the lowest bid and $9,837,739 lower than the engineer’s estimate of $356,165,487.
The project is expected to last for 20 months and will benefit almost 800 students. Additionally, a one-year defects liability period, after the completion of works, is catered for.
Though the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region 10 is listed as the employer in the tender document, RDC Chairman Derron Adams was excluded from the signing of the contract. He has since criticised the move, labelling the signing exercise as “disingenuous”.
