By Deneita Fredericks
Solid Waste Director, Walter Narine on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction at being blamed by city councillors at Monday’s statutory meeting for the failure of F&H Computer Supplies & General Merchandising to procure two garbage compactors to the correct specifications.
A furore has arisen over the compactors procured under former Mayor Ubraj Narine as they cannot function at the current specifications.
During an interview with Stabroek News, Walter Narine responded to the criticisms. He stated that the procurement of the compactors was done through public tendering and the tenders were opened under the previous council and a selection made. He noted that it was a collective decision.
“The selection of the supplier for the compactors was done by public tendering, so there are records to back this. The previous council decided on F&H in the tender document and even after they were selected the initial sum of $10m was (provided) to purchase the equipment”, he said.
Narine highlighted that F&H Computer Supplies & General Merchandising sourced the compactors from Pakawaste, a company located in England that supplies most of the disposal companies in Guyana with equipment. He furthermore described the procurement process to be thorough and in line with established protocols.
The discrepancy in specifications surfaced when the equipment arrived in May this year. Narine stated, “We immediately observed upon the arrival of the compactors that the specifications were wrong and reached out to the supplier, who told us that … Pakawaste had to come to Guyana to do some training and they would rectify the technical aspect when they arrived, this however proved futile.”
He maintained that the council is misinformed with regards to the procurement process of the compactors as well as the actions taken after components with the incorrect specifications arrived. He said that he is being placed in the ‘hot seat’ for misleading the council when it was the supplier that did not ensure the specifications matched those that were placed in the public tender.
Narine has pointed fingers at supplier F&H Computer Supplies & General Merchandising, charging that they were solely responsible for the ill-fated acquisition. Stabroek News has been unable to contact F&H for comment.
“F&H Computer Supplies & General Merchandising is totally responsible for this mess. From day one we informed them that the compacters did not meet the specifications when we went through manual and further payments were held. We could not have known before it arrived, that the item would have been wrong, however when it arrived we reached out to them…..then elections came and slowed down the process and now the matter is being brought up to the attention of the new council”, Walter Narine said.
Presently, M&CC has in its possession 400 volts, 50 hertz compactors, wherein it should be 240 volts with 60 hertz.
On Monday, councillors engaged in a debate over the recent compactor procurement controversy, with a particular focus on Walter Narine’s role. People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) councillor, Patricia Chase- Green led the charge, emphasizing that the city council had been put in a difficult position due to what some members perceived as a lack of guidance from Walter Narine.
Concerns were raised not only about the financial impact of the faulty procurement but also about the challenges now faced by the council in the taking of legal action to have the $10m reimbursed by the supplier.
In response to the claim that the procurement problem could potentially cost the city $3 million for garbage clearing, Narine stated that the aim of the project was to save money at the market sites.
“We have initially signaled for the purchase of 2 compactors and 1 truck, however only the purchase of the truck was approved. So even if these compacters were operational, M&CC still has to pay a truck to take it the landfill which would incur costs”, the Solid Waste Director said.
