-Mustapha tells Parliament
Only 10% of work has been completed on the controversial Belle Vue pump station contract awarded to Tepui Inc despite the advancing of $182m to the company.
This was confirmed by Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha during yesterday’s consideration of the budget estimates in the Committee of Supply.
The assigning of the contract to Tepui has seen condemnation of the government and questions about the integrity of the procurement system considering that the company had never built a pump station and its principal is close to the ruling PPP/C.
The $182 million has been allocated to cover mobilization costs and materials, including timber, as part of the ongoing project. Mustapha yesterday acknowledged the slow progress, but assured the House that the project would be completed by August 2025, despite the delays. “The pump station is still under contract,” Mustapha said.
In December 2024, SN reported that Mustapha said that the riot act had been read to the company. During a year-end press briefing at the Ministry of Agriculture’s office on Regent Street in Georgetown, Mustapha expressed his dissatisfaction with the delays affecting the pump station and stated that no extensions will be given for the completion of the project. When asked by Stabroek News about the progress of the project, the Minister replied, “I’m hoping so, they are still in the contract period and I am hoping … we met with the contractors with the Chairman of NDIA (National Drainage and Irrigation Authority), I have read the Riot Act I said we are not giving any extensions, we will do what we did with other projects, implement the liquidated damages and they have to complete within the time.”
The Auditor General in his report tabled in Parliament last year, said: 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.
He added that 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.
An inquiry conducted by the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) found that Tepui was required to have had the experience of having completed one project of a similar nature within the past five years. Similar projects, the relevant guideline said, “shall include pump stations, sluices and drainage structures”. Having been incorporated less than a year before, Tepui did not have these qualifications, yet the evaluation committee of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) found its bid to be responsive.
The summary of findings said that Tepui itself submitted as part of its tender, a letter addressed to the procuring agency, National Drainage and Irrigation Authority dated June 13th, 2023, under the hand of “Winston Martindale, Director” captioned “Record of Past Work Experience” in which it stated – “Our company was registered in August 2022 and has now commenced the process of bidding for projects, hence we do not have any past work experience but our team of personnel have years of experience under upgrading and rehabilitation of roads as indicated on their respective resumes.”
Tepui also did not provide a bank line of credit. It provided a line of credit issued by Puran Bros. Later a letter of credit issued by Caricom General Insurance Company appeared but this also was ineligible.
Tepui did not submit – as required – an audited financial statement as it was not in existence for a year.
In terms of equipment requirements, Tepui, the summary of findings said, did not show evidence of three pieces of equipment. It also fell short of its bid security requirement.
The PPC Summary of Findings, published in April 2024, emphasized the necessity of strict oversight and suggested that should Tepui fail to meet standards, the contract could be revoked. The commission also raised concerns about Tepui’s lack of experience with pump station construction, despite being granted the contract. The PPC’s findings indicated that the NPTAB had not supplied adequate updates on the project’s status, leading to increased scrutiny. Tepui is helmed by social media personality Mikhail Rodrigues.
