The controversial Tepui Group was awarded a $688m contract earlier this year for land development under the Ministry of Housing.
Tepui came to public notice last year when it was awarded an $865M pump station contract at Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara despite the fact that it had not undertaken construction of that type before and its bid failed to comply with several requirements.
A source within the Ministry of Housing, yesterday confirmed that Mikhail Rodrigues of the Tepui Group was awarded an infrastructure development contract worth $688 million in March this year. The source contended that the contract followed established procedures and was subsequently approved by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
Rodrigues, speaking in a broadcast yesterday, denied any involvement in corrupt practices, stating that all contracts his company received were through legitimate competitive bidding processes. He specifically mentioned the contract he won for “housing developments” in Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, asserting that the Tepui Group was selected based on its qualifications and past performance.
“I have a contract that I bid for at Good Hope. I talked about all these things publicly…It’s housing developments I’m doing. I bid and got the contract as one of the most qualified contractors to get the job because housing sees what I’m doing.”
In speaking with Stabroek News yesterday Rodrigues refuted claims of any corruption involving his company “All of our jobs with housing were tendered for and are public information”.
Despite these claims, efforts to verify the transparency of the process by SN have faced obstacles. The contract awarded to Tepui Group does not appear on the NPTAB’s publicly available list of recently awarded tenders. This has been a recurring problem with the NPTAB.
This incident is not the first time the Tepui Group has faced scrutiny over contract awards. In the recent investigation of the Belle Vue Pump Station award, the findings of which were published in April 2024, the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) highlighted discrepancies in the evaluation process for the $865m Belle Vue Pump Station.
Specifically, Tepui was found to lack the required experience in projects similar to pump stations, as mandated by the tender documents. It also did not meet other requirements. Despite these shortcomings a contract was subsequently concluded.
