-gov’t to crack down on families getting multiple contracts
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday during a meeting with contractors in Region Six revealed that 60 kilometers of work for a four-lane road has already been awarded and is expected to commence soon as government moves ahead with the extension of the main access road.
Jagdeo told the contractors gathered yesterday, “Here in Berbice there is about 60 kilometers that we have already awarded from the New Amsterdam end coming done at 30 kilometers and 30 from the Crabwood Creek end.”
He then announced, “That work would start very soon.”
Noting the government’s concerns about procurement, Jagdeo said that he will continue to defend government’s position on issues which are being distorted by the opposition.
However, he said it bothers him when supporters of the PPP/C express concerns about the fairness of the procurement system and the abuse of the system by many people.
Noting that his government is taking a “head on” approach, Jagdeo said that there were complaints about multiple contracts being given to one family which creates a major case of dissatisfaction in the eyes of the people. “They complain about government officials getting contracts, they complain about shoddy work being done and people still getting new contracts, they complain about big contractors forcing out small people.”
Jagdeo pointed out to the contractors gathered that the PPP/C gets the blame for works which are not carried out to the proper standard, and to provide a sense of perspective Jagdeo said that there are so many contractors today because of the willingness of the governing party to expand and to assist more people to grow.
He said that some people have grown and are doing exceptional works while some believe that they can rip off the system.
“We’ve had cases in this region of …one family having six companies, a single family and then when we don’t know so the contracts go to six different persons or one family but six different persons in the family, when the activist and the other people see that they say look what’s happened it’s a PPP thing, never mind we didn’t even know these companies belong to related people.”
He stressed, “We want to help, we want to share the works as broadly as possible so that everyone can grow and that everyone can develop themselves but this system has to change and so the way we awarded too it was a little bit unfair.”
Rates
He explained, “In an attempt to share work people tender, one man might get the lowest bid for five contracts but since we don’t want to give one person five contracts” as such similar lengths of roads were awarded at different prices in government’s attempt to share the contract ensuring everyone benefits.
“So what we have decided now is that we are going to establish rates for each region, we are going to try to help people below a certain level, “the big contractors, the massive ones who are getting $500 and $600m they must not bid for the small contract, they are bidding for $2m and $3m contracts and all of that too, they must not bid for that, exclude them.”
He said, that contracts below a level of $15m will be made easy, “We are going to work …on the bases of rates for each region so people can make some money too and they can get contracts.”
According to him, this system will ensure more of the works are shared properly “and people at least can get one contract or so rather than one family getting several contracts and others not getting anything.”
Additionally, Jagdeo said that some government workers especially those who work around the regional tender boards must not have companies “and be competing with others and then they can violate the process.”
This he stressed is something he is looking at “seriously” as he has also met with the Regional Administration of Region Five and will be meeting with the Regional Administration of Region Six. “To ensure that people are not steering contracts to themselves, even just the look of it is bad and so we are going to ensure that doesn’t happen”, he assured.
Furthermore, he said, that they will be working to ensure that contractors benefit from their own region. “The smaller projects must remain for regional contractors”, as he pointed out that over 40 persons from other regions are benefitting from contracts in Region Six.
Meanwhile, Jagdeo also said that persons have become “middle men” in the sense that they get the contracts then sub contract them to others and often times proper works are not done – something which needs to be looked at. He stated, that they must examine and ensure that contractors have the capacity to do the work awarded as he assured that Region Six “will have a ton of work.”
He said, “We have a long way to go, we are going to be in office for a long time into the future.”
Many of the procurement problems cited by Jagdeo have been in evidence over the term of the administration but little has been done about them.
