Following the 5:30 am meeting at State House on Tuesday, where President Irfaan Ali admonished several officials over delayed infrastructure projects, an engineer from the Ministry of Public Works, Amal Allie has taken to social media to clarify his side of the story.
In his post, he recounted the meeting, his exchanges with the President, and addressed accusations circulating afterward.
In his Facebook post, the engineer detailed, “On Tuesday, November 12th, 2024, I attended a meeting at State House Guyana, hosted by his Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali at 5:30 am where ministers, permanent secretaries, engineers, and contractors attended from different ministries.”
He explained that three contractors, specifically “BDE Recycling, S and S Construction and Aggregates, and JJ Mining and Construction, which are owned by Mrs. Sarah Persaud and Mr. Joseph Persaud,” were awarded “three projects, namely, Lot 72: Rehabilitation/construction of Endeavor to De Ridders Faith, Canal No.1 Polder, Region #3, lot 71: Rehabilitation/ construction of Northern Access Road, Two Brothers, Canal No.1, Region #3, and Lot 74: Rehabilitation/ Construction of South Section, Canal No.2 Polder, Region #3.”
According to the engineer, contractors had been tasked with attending site visits back in September, yet by November, they claimed not to have received the necessary commencement letters to begin work.
“First of all, the contractors were tasked to attend a site visit on September 19th and 20th, 2024, to their respective project sites,” he said. “However, to date, Mr. Joseph Persaud represented the three above-mentioned companies and received the commencement order or letter of commencement as shown in figure 1 for each project.”
Tensions during the meeting rose when the President questioned the engineer directly.
“Did the contractor receive a signed acceptance letter of commencement?” President Ali asked repeatedly. According to the engineer, “My reply was yes, a commencement order was issued to the contractors. I was asked this question over and over as it appears that I’m lying. However, a commencement order or letter of commencement is the same. Every time, I tried to explain this. I wasn’t given a chance to and was requested to speak the truth as if I’m lying.”
The President, visibly frustrated, demanded to know why contractors who hadn’t received the necessary documents were still being classified as delayed, remarking, “If the contractor did not get the letter to commence work, how is he being classified as delayed? This doesn’t require any engineering science.” The President expressed frustration with what he saw as systemic issues preventing contractors from progressing and emphasized the importance of accountability and transparency in project management.
Further intensifying the exchange, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill pointed out underlying “bad blood” between the engineer and contractor Joseph Persaud. This Alli said stemmed from an alleged arson incident involving Joseph Persaud’s vehicle. The engineer addressed these accusations in his post, writing, “The Honourable Minister Bishop Juan A. Edghill spoke of bad blood within the engineer and the contractor because Mr. Joseph Persaud is implicating me that I burnt his Raptor and is spreading an accusation of arson.”
Allie expressed his dismay over the accusation, adding, “From yesterday to today, there has been a lot of posts and memes circulating, which clearly defames the person I am, but social media users have their free judgments.”
The engineer concluded his post by affirming his dedication to his role: “With all this occurrence, it will only make me a better engineer. I will always continue to be professional in executing my duties and work to develop the communities I’m assigned to.”
At the end of the meeting President Ali emphasized that effective project management requires clear communication and accountability, while the engineer maintained that all commencement orders had been issued and that contractors were informed as required.
