Dear Editor,
Kindly permit me space in your letters column to publish this letter on a national issue that should concern all Guyanese, especially taxpayers!
The Ministry of Public Works, through its Senior Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, came to the National Assembly during the budget for 2022, requesting an initial $2.6B from a total allocation of $15B (over a period) to construct a twelve storey office complex to accommodate several government ministries.
Apparently, nothing was done in that year, since the initial location for the construction was shifted to a 10 acres plot of land parallel to the Mandela-Eccles, four-lane road. What was worrying to me, is that even at the second proposed construction site, nothing was done.
However, for Budget 2023, the Ministry, through the Minister, sought an additional sum of $4B! Like in 2022, many questions were asked by my colleagues and I regarding this project. The responses were unsatisfactory in many instances. At some point, Minister Edghill sought to carry the discussion in other areas. Not taken by surprises, the PPP/C House Speaker, Mr. Manzoor Nadir, rather than cautioning the member and requesting of him to respond appropriately, gave the member latitude to take us on a global trip. Additionally, there were several questions on this project tabled in the National Assembly, post budget 2023 and again, the responses were all unfavourable.
Editor, I have a personal interest in this project, since it is hard earned taxpayers’ dollars being used to fund this project, and as a member of the Legislature, it is my civic responsibility to inform the public on the progress or non-progress of this project. Prior to budget 2024, I visited the third proposed construction site, as announced by Minister Edghill at his Ministry’s end of year performance report for 2023. To be accurate, I am sharing an extract of his speech below.
“Construction of a high-rise government office which will link several government ministries and agencies is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year,” Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, gave the update at a year-end press conference on Friday last at the ministry’s Wight’s Lane, Kingston, George-town office. “This is a major project. You will have heard us discuss this at Parliament, and provisions have been made. We have actually moved the location to give us a better deal and a better service,” the minister said. He noted that the building will be constructed about 1 km east of the second roundabout at the new Eccles/Haags Bosch roundabout. The complex will feature four towers that will have the capacity to hold approximately 6,000 staff, built on 20 acres of land. These complexes are intended to increase efficiency by consolidating these government agencies into one location, thereby improving on the delivery of services.
What is troubling to me is that in budget 2024, a further $1B was approved for the very project. Like in previous years, during the consideration of the estimates for the Ministry of Public Works on January 31, 2024, several questions were put to Minister Edghill, and again, he took us on a round trip without providing the appropriate responses. Questions on “commencement order was asked, where are the materials being procured, why monies paid out and no signs of equipment, workmen or materials stockpiled, etc.,?” Editor, as at September 17, 2024, a total of $7.6B has been approved by the National Assembly and perhaps some percentage of this sum paid to the contractor, “Caribbean Green Building Inc,” and not one pile has been driven to date.
The goodly Minister, who is also a member of the clergy, further stated, “We are advancing with this project now. We apologize to the nation and the House for the delays but the delays are for the good of all of us because we want to ensure that what we are doing is to bring relief and not bring in struggle.” Editor, why would the Minister make such a comment, knowing well that is not the case? He has been caught misleading the House of the Assembly and by extension the people of Guyana. Since I am cognizant that billions have been approved by the National Assembly, I have been keeping an “eagle’s eye” on this project, which in my view, appears to be moving on a turtle back. Editor, on May 7, 2024, I revisited the construction site to have a view of what is happening on the land. The image attached, surely reflects what the state of the construction site was. After four months, exactly September 7, 2024, I revisited the site and recognized that nothing was being done on the land, except for the stock piling of aggregates for the new road construction, between Ogle to Eccles. Image attached for ease of reference.
Editor, as I did previously, I am calling on Hon. Bishop Edghill to provide to the people of Guyana the truth behind this project. It is time he comes clean. Therefore, I am calling on Minister Edghill to provide the following answers to the following questions: 1. What has caused the stalling of the project for the office complexes? 2. List the works and percentage done as at September 7, 2024; 3. As per (2) above, provide a disaggregation of monies paid to contract each activity. 4. From the $7.6B approved by the National Assembly, what amount has been paid to the contractor? 5. Has the commencement order been issued to the Contractor? 6. If no to (6) above, when is this likely to be done? 7. If yes to (6), what actions has the Ministry of Public Works taken against the Con-tractor for stalling the project? 8. Can the minister say whether monies from the $7B approved for the office complexes are being used to fund the construction of the Sheraton Four Points Hotel? 9. With a project of this magnitude, funded by the people of Guyana, why is the Ministry of Public Works failing to provide timely, accurate and adequate information? 10. Editor, you will agree with me that this project will remain a mystery one.
What is there to hide? Come clean! I conclude with an expectation of Minister Bishop Juan Edghill responding to the questions above and providing accountability for Taxpayers money of $7.6B
Sincerely,
Annette Ferguson MP
