In what should increasingly trouble citizens as to the manner in which public funds are going down the drain, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority(NDIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture on October 9th acknowledged major issues with several pump stations including the cancellation of an almost $1b contract at Black Bush Polder.
Some of the problems cited by the NDIA underlined the haphazard nature of project preparation and the absolute haste by the government to spend no matter the consequences.
Interestingly, the revelations by the NDIA came after a searing letter in the Stabroek News on October 8th from APNU+AFC MP Ganesh Mahipaul followed by a request by this newspaper to the ministry for a response. Mr Mahipaul, also a member of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament clearly had accurate information on these projects and this therefore forced a response from the ministry. This is exactly what opposition MPs have been placed in Parliament to do and the interest of the public demands it. It would not be unfair to say that the opposition MPs have fallen short of expectations over the last three years particularly in light of the massive expenditure the government has embarked upon and the poor management of the oil and gas sector. With Parliamentary sittings expected to resume shortly one expects to see the opposition make far better use of the house and the sectoral committees to defend the country’s interests.
Now for what the Ministry said. Mr Mahipaul’s questions revolved around the major delays in the construction of pump stations which come with hefty price tags. He cited the construction of a pump station at Black Bush Polder to irrigate Black Bush Farmlands. It was awarded to Yunas Civil & Building Construction for the sum of $978,715,000 and had an expected completion date of April 23, 2023. However, only 14% of the work had been completed, with 20% of the contract sum already disbursed. By any yardstick that was a disastrous performance and the NDIA/ ministry had to deliver the bad news.
“With regards to the construction of the drainage pump station to irrigate Black Bush Polder Farmlands, Region No. 6, this project was terminated on September 25, 2023 by the NDIA for poor quality and performance of works being executed. This project will soon be retendered”, the NDIA said. This is shocking. The contract was awarded some time in August 2021 and two years later the project was terminated with only 14% of the work done? Who is monitoring these projects? More importantly, who will calculate the loss to the country from this aborted venture?
Interestingly, Yunas Civil and Building Construction bid significantly above the engineer’s estimate but was still awarded the project only for it to be terminated two years later without key irrigation services being provided to the people of Black Bush Polder. The engineer’s estimate for this project was $899.5b. Yunas Civil and Building Construction bid at $978m, $79m above and far more than two other tenderers who were closer to the engineer’s estimate. Further, this company had been debarred for one year in 2019 in a historic move by the Public Procurement Commission (PPC). How then did it so easily win this contract only to woefully fail at it? For quite some time now it has been clear that the handpicked evaluation committees installed by this government at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) have not a clue as to what they are doing or they are being unduly influenced in certain directions. It is time for an investigation to be launched into the conduct of the NPTAB and its committees. Huge amounts of public funds are at stake in these big ticket projects and poor governance is clearly on display here. Now that the project has been terminated, will the new Public Procurement Commission move to investigate and possibly debar this company or will it continue to sit on its hands and do nothing as money is frittered away? The NDIA and the Ministry of Agriculture must immediately advise the public whether they intend to recoup monies advanced to Yunas Civil and Building Construction and what is the likely loss to the country from retendering considering that a new successful bidder might have to re-engineer works that have already begun. Is there a bond that can be tapped?
The other pump projects evinced classic signs of poor preparation prior to the project awards. The $544.8m Charity pump station in Region Two required squatters to be removed, the NDIA said, and this obviously delayed the project. In the case of the A-Line pump station, West Demerara, Region No.3, the statement said that the NDIA had to engage shopkeepers and fisher folk to remove encumbrances such as shops, fishermen’s storage huts and utilities and this again regarded progress.
In relation to the Canal No.1 pump station project in Region No.3, the NDIA said there was a delay in obtaining approval for the demolition of a community centre building. This building, the NDIA said, was within the construction zone and housed a sub-office for the National Library of Guyana. As such, there were engagements to provide for the relocation of the occupants and this process took some time, significantly impeding the project. How could expensive projects be awarded for sites with squatters, fishermen’s storage huts and a National Library facility in the vicinity? Weren’t there visits to the sites before the contract awards? What has transpired is classic harum-scarum work and a reflection of the pell-mell haste by the government to secure political gains. Sense must prevail otherwise poor and delayed work will be delivered to the public and there will be no one but the government to be blamed for this.
In relation to the Cottage pump station, in Region No.5, it was explained by the NDIA that due to the erosion of the main access dam, there was an issue with access to the project site. As such, a bridge and access dam had to be constructed. Again, no project should be awarded in any area that has not been geotechnically inspected and cleared for such works. The Ministry is clearly just assigning work to willing contractors without proper preparation.
There are signs all around of shoddy and dangerous work in the infrastructure sector. The stockpiling of 30,000 tonnes of aggregate in the parking lot of the National Stadium and the destruction it caused on Thursday to Red Road, Providence was another act of incalculable foolishness that will cost the country and there should be a surcharge against those who made the decision. The never -ending project stelling project at Leguan, the Bamia school contract awarded to entertainers and footballers and the underestimation of what was required in the expensive dredging of the Pomeroon River are just a few other examples. There will be major losses and cost overruns on these projects but who is checking?
The Office of the Auditor General should be doing more contemporaneous examinations of these projects but isn’t and its reports are not examined at the Public Accounts Committee in a timely manner.
There are likely many more projects in trouble aside from the ones that Mr Mahipaul was able to elicit a response on. Given the massive expenditure on infrastructural projects it may now be time for the government to establish a contractor-general’s office with adequate staff – recruited from overseas if necessary – to rigorously inspect these projects in addition to the work that consultants are meant to to. The country will likely save money and interdict much earlier disasters like the terminated $978m Black Bush Polder pump station.
