-Auditor General’s Report
The Auditor General’s Report for 2023 says $160.8m was paid to the firm headed by Mikhail Rodrigues known as `Guyanese Critic’ for the Belle Vue Pump Station works but up to August 14, 2024 no works were in progress at the time of the visit of the auditors.
The government, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) have been rebuked over this contract which went to Rodrigues’ Tepui Inc which had never built a pump station before.
Many reports have been carried in this newspaper over this award but the Ministry of Agriculture and the NDIA have been silent on the way forward for this project. The controversy has taken on political overtones as Rodrigues has ready access to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and other senior members of the PPP/C government.
Yesterday, the Auditor General’s Office addressed the project and cited peculiarities including the variation of the award and an amendment to the start date. It also pointed out that Tepui – which it did not name in the report – had failed nine of the 18 requirements set out in the evaluation criteria.
The Auditor General’s Report tabled yesterday in Parliament noted that the award for the construction of Belle Vue Pump Station, Region №. 3 was made by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board in the sum of $870.563m against an Engineer’s Estimate of $779.199M. As at August 2024, the sum of $160.894m was paid to the contractor. The report said that an examination of the Contractor’s Bid Docu-ment and physical verification revealed that:
a) The award was first made on 14 August 2023 for the sum $865.544m, which corresponds with the amount stated in the Contractor’s Bid Form and priced bills of quantities. This award was however rescinded and a second award was made on 15 September 2023 to the same contractor for an increased sum of $870.564m, which is $5.020m higher than the sum stated in the contractor’s bid, and which was the price of an NDIA’s Procurement Department priced Bills of Quantities seen in the contract.
b) An examination of the Contractor’s bid submissions showed that the contractor failed to satisfy nine out of the eighteen requirements set out in the evaluation criteria.
c) The contract was signed on 22 September 2023, with a duration of eighteen months for completion. According to documents seen, Addendum (№.1) to increase the percentage for advance payment from 15% to 30% was made on 21 September 2023, one day before the Contract Agreement was signed. Addendums №.2 and №.3 were for paying the Contractor for materials on site and changing the Contract start date from 6 October 2023 to 29 January 2024 respectively.
d) The Contractor was mobilized on site; however, no works were in progress at the time of the visit on 14 August 2024, while only the construction of two earthen coffer dams, excavation works, and demolition of the old existing sluice structure were completed, along with the installation of a test pile. Two excavators were seen on site, along with two site office/containers, a water pump and a quantity of timber piles and steel sheet piles at the time.
