Auditor General Deodat Sharma has undertaken an examination into the protracted construction of the Bamia/Amelia’s Ward Primary School in Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice).
This is according to a letter from Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) Michael Singh to former public works minister David Patterson, who had requested an update on the situation.
According to the letter, which this newspaper has seen, the PPC’s CEO wrote: “… please be informed that in exercise of Article 212 AA(1) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the PPC has referred the matter to the Auditor General, inter alia, for the examination of the tender award and any necessary actions emanating therefrom”.
In the letter, dated March 22, 2024, Singh on behalf of the PPC, apologised for the delay by the National Procurement and Tender Board Administration (NPTAB) which had failed to comply promptly with the request of the PPC to submit a complete copy of the tender proceedings and relevant information, particularly that of the awarded bidder.
St8ment Investment Inc had been controversially awarded the $346 million contract to build the school in November 2021. The project was expected to be completed in 20 months and the deadline was July 2023. However, in September 2022, Region Ten Chairman Deron Adams reported that it had been stalled for over six weeks. When contacted, Rawle Ferguson, one of the principals of St8ment Investment Inc, claimed to be unaware that there was no work being undertaken at the building site.
Three months later, at the end of December 2022, Ferguson had told this newspaper that the construction of the school was progressing on schedule with some 35% to 40% of the work completed. He had stated that the halt in the construction was due to unforeseen circumstances, adding that the company, though still challenged with regard to the supply of sand, steel, and stone, due to the high demand around the country, was pushing to meet the deadline.
By April 2023, it was clear that the school building was seriously behind schedule. A site manager who spoke to this newspaper again cited a shortage of building materials as well as a deficit in labour. The July 2023 deadline came and went and the contracting company was given an extension to November 2023, to no avail.
It is worth recalling here that the 2022 Auditor General’s Report, tabled in December 2023, failed to document the ongoing construction, which falls under the Ministry of Local Government. At the time, the Auditor General had stated that the construction was omitted because of its incompleteness, but that it would be itemised in the 2023 Report, once completed.
On February 4, Stabroek News reported that an additional $127 million was allocated this year for the completion of the project with yet another revised deadline of April 1. Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Sonia Parag, who made the disclosure in Parliament in response to questions posed by APNU+AFC Members of Parliament Devin Sears and Jermaine Figueira, had also stated that the primary school was 65% complete. Even with that boost, the contractors have now missed the April 1 deadline.
St8ment was incorporated in March 2021 a mere eight months before it was awarded the Bamia/Amelia’s Ward Primary School contract. 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. Questions were raised at the time as none of the principals had a proven construction background. The latter two have ties to the PPP/C.
