The Ministry of Public Works yesterday sharply criticised contractor S Maraj over his failure to complete the troubled Leguan Stelling project and it declared that it won’t be bullied into paying more for a contract that has seen many variations.
Referring to a news item published in Monday’s edition of Stabroek News, the ministry in a release noted that Maraj of S Maraj Con-tracting Services alleged that work on the Leguan Stelling had been stalled due to outstanding money owed to him by the Government.
The ministry refuted this claim.
“Truthfully, the government would like nothing better than to finally put behind its back, this inherited mismanaged project, a slap-in-the-face and illicit act against taxpayers”, the ministry declared.
It said that under the direction of the then Minister of Public Infra-structure, David Patterson, a contract totalling $413,259,260 was signed to complete the project in six months with the contractor receiving up to $199,435,000 in payments which amounted to about 50% of the contract sum at the time, and yet the project was still incomplete a year after. The revised contract sum is now a whopping $607,259,260.
Contracts usually provide a 15% advance payment for work to get started, however, the ministry said that under the APNU+AFC government there was a clear disregard for the procurement practices and a clear breach of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act.
It said that the poorly managed project which was expected to be completed by June 7, 2019 remains a thorn in the side of the government today with a contractor trying to force more money from the government even though only 2% of the work is said to be remaining on the project.
“The Ministry notes that this particular contractor has manifested opportunism throughout the execution of this contract, utilising perceived deficiencies and ambiguities in the bill of quantities, as a basis for making claims for additional payments for the execution of aspects of works.
“These include claims for additional payment for activities that are inherent to the execution of the works, and which are typically catered for in the bill rates at the bidding phase”, the release said.
The ministry said that two notable examples that have had significant financial implications on the contract are the contractor’s claim for additional payment for clearing the riverbed at the project site of obstacles prior to driving the pre-stressed concrete piles for the stelling and the claim of additional payment for cutting of pre-stressed concrete piles to the design cutoff level after driving.
The Ministry added that the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) which is responsible for all stellings has sought an amicable resolution to the contractor’s claims and has negotiated reasonable settlements with the contractor.
A total of ten variation orders have been resolved under the contract to date with the contractor being fully compensated in accordance with negotiated agreements, the release said. These were addressed under Addendum No.1 which was ratified between the contractor and T&HD in December 2022.
The ministry said that the contractor’s assertion that the ministry is reluctant to resolve legitimate claims under the contract is therefore dishonest.
Further, it said that in a negotiation meeting prior to the ratification of Addendum No.1, the contractor gave a commitment to complete the project expeditiously (prior to the June 5, 2023 deadline) and within the revised contract sum of $607,259,260.
The contractor has failed to deliver the project in line with this commitment and the ministry said that he has deliberately delayed the execution of works at a critical juncture in the project execution when the link span bridge installation is required to complete the major infrastructure works on the project.
The ministry charged that there is nothing stopping the contractor from installing the link span bridge. It said that the T&HD has processed payments due to the contractor to enable the cash flow needed to execute this outstanding aspect of the works. The project is currently three months over the contract completion date stipulated in Addendum No.1 (i.e. June 5, 2023).
The release said that the T&HD has issued multiple directives to the contractor regarding the completion of the link span bridge installation in accordance with the contract requirements.
Outstanding claims for payment to the contractor will be resolved in accordance with the provisions of the addendum, the ministry stated.
“The contractor’s failure to fulfill the outstanding project obligations as directed by the Ministry will result in the application of recourse and compensatory provisions for nonperformance in accordance with the contract and national procurement framework”, the ministry warned.
