In the 2017 hurricanes the BVI Post suffered damage to all of its locations, including letterboxes, and the recovery has been an ongoing struggle, Postmaster General Pascha Stoutt told legislators during Standing Finance Committee deliberations in April.
As a result, she said, all staff members from across Tortola were reassigned to the Road Town office, where she said conditions were “inappropriate,” according to a report on the closed-door SFC proceedings.
All mail was being collected, sorted and distributed to customers at the central location as well, she said, adding that a Cabinet paper had been drafted regarding the procurement of new letterboxes and the waiving of the tender process.
Letterboxes
Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration Minister Vincent Wheatley inquired about a statement in Ms. Stoutt’s presentation indicating that the letterboxes for Anegada and for North Sound and The Valley in Virgin Gorda would be installed in 2021, and asked whether there were already any letterboxes at those locations and whether the installations would be upgrades.
Ms. Stoutt replied that letterboxes were being “installed in three phases,” according to the report.
Third District Representative Julian Fraser also asked about the letterboxes at Sea Cows Bay and the former post office in Road Town, to which Ms. Stoutt responded that the letterboxes for SCB would be installed during “Phase Two” of the project.
She also said the former location in Road Town was not safe to enter because of structural and mould issues, and added that the letterboxes there were outdated and that the keys needed to open them are no longer manufactured.
Junior Minister for Tourism Shreen Flax-Charles asked about the construction project that was being undertaken at the letterbox location in Road Town near Scotiabank, noting that the way the area was boarded up at the time posed safety concerns by forcing pedestrians to walk into traffic. Ms. Flax-Charles asked Ms. Stoutt who was responsible for boarding up the area, but the SFC report did not include Ms. Stoutt’s response.
Finance
When Mr. Fraser pressed Ms. Stoutt on the delay in restoring the letterboxes, she cited a lack of funding and resources.
She also said that the BVI Post needed a cost accountant to ensure that the costs of delivering and processing mail were “adequately covered.”
Financial Secretary Glenroy Forbes said that $377,000 had been allocated in the department’s 2019 budget to purchase and maintain letterboxes, and that $119,000 had been allocated in the 2018 budget for this purpose as well.
Ms. Stoutt also stated that the 2018 budget — in which 64 percent of funding went towards personal emoluments, 23 percent went towards contractual agreements and 13 percent went towards operational expenses — was “not feasible,” but the SFC report did not state if she specified any suggested changes.
The budget estimates suggest that the office’s overall budget remained about the same this year: The 2018 estimate was $3,155,809, versus $3,104,860 for 2019.
US proposal
… more
Image: Pixabay (Pexels)
Read more
Two buildings housing government departments on Virgin Gorda will soon undergo repairs, following the damage to the structures by category five hurricanes more than two years.
The buildings – the Flax and the North Sound Administration facilities – are now open for tender for rehabilitative and reconstruction works, a government-commissioned release has said.
Flax building
The release said proposed works on the Flax Administration building will see the structure’s concrete frame rehabilitated, block walls strengthened and a new truss timber roof with metal sheeting built.
The carpentry, interior finishes, plumbing fires and fittings, electrical systems and some mechanical works will also be replaced, the release added.
Vanterpool building
In the meantime, Procurement Coordinator Ishma Rhymer said the Vanterpool building will receive reinforced block walls and a concrete frame.
Timbre rafter roofs with metal sheets, a replacement of the exterior stairwells and a new roof will also be done, she further said.
“Other works on the building include the rehabilitation and partial replacement of carpentry, improvements to all finished floors, walls and ceilings; rehabilitation of some plumbing fixtures, electrical lights and components and some mechanical systems, in addition to the construction of a water cistern,” the release noted.
Requirements to bid
… more
Image: David McBee (Pexels)
Read more
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highlighted gaps in Guyana’s governance structure which it contends could lead to corruption.
According to the Staff Report from its 2019 Article IV Mission, weakness in several key areas such as fiscal governance, regulatory framework, rule of law, and AML/CFT could give rise to corruption vulnerabilities.
The staff noted that authorities have taken steps to strengthen governance in the areas highlighted, but capacity weaknesses continue to impact decisive implementation of policy actions.
Specifically key governance institutions such as the Financial Intelligence Unit, National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Public Procurement Commission and the Integrity Commission face significant capacity weaknesses with severe staff shortages, particularly legal and accounting expertise, the report highlighted.
“This severely impacts the ability of the institutions to ensure compliance with existing regulations, conduct investigations including for politically exposed persons (PEPs) and implement additional actions to further strengthen governance systems to address corruption vulnerabilities,” it stressed.
Efforts by the authorities to strengthen governance, in the areas of anti-corruption and transparency in the extractive industry, and procurement were noted and commended.
These commendations were premised on the submission of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Report in 2019 and the commencement of implementation of its recommendations to further enhance transparency in the extractive industry as well as the recent reestablishment of the Integrity Commission.
According to the IMF this reestablishment has reinvigorated compliance with the asset declaration regime.
The report noted that staff have encouraged authorities to make the asset declarations public and develop the methodology for their verification.
In public procurement, the staff welcomed the steps to enhance the transparency of the bidding process and awarding of contracts, but also encouraged the authorities to ensure timely compliance with existing regulations and take further actions to fortify the transparency of the procurement system.
Repeated mention was made of the “welcome step” embodied in the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) legislation but the report has recommended the legislation be expeditiously complemented with a fiscal responsibility framework to ensure that fiscal deficits are avoided.
“The NRF framework commendably aims to save part of the natural resource income as net wealth for future generations. To ensure this and to keep public debt from rising, a zero-overall balance rule which constrains the annual non-oil deficit to not exceed the expected transfer from the NRF is needed. This rule could be phased in over the next three years to allow a smooth widening of the non-oil deficit (in relation to non-oil GDP),” they advise.
… more
Image: Penn State (flickr)
Read more
The caretaker APNU+AFC administration on Friday released to the media a list of approved road contracts worth $714.51m for regions 4, 6 and 10.
Since it has effectively been a caretaker government from December 21 last year the contracts approved by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board and noted by Cabinet will raise eyebrows.
Many of these roads are also located within what are perceived to be strongholds of the governing APNU+AFC coalition.
The road works include $69m for Front Road, West Ruimveldt awarded to H Nauth and Sons; $48.6m for the Agricola Main Access (Brutus Street) to GuyAmerica Inc; $37m for Essequibo Street, Lamaha Springs awarded to Chung’s Global Enterprise; $41.4m for Primary School Street, Manchester, Corentyne awarded to Kason Engineering and $74m for Sansculotte Street, (Bun Bush Dam), East Canje, Berbice to Surrey Paving and Ideal.
The list of roads follows:
Region 4, Ministry of Public Infrastructure
- Road network, (South entrance) South Ruimveldt, Georgetown For the sum of $25,963,270.00. Contract awarded to K.P Thomas & Sons contracting.
- Front Road, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown For the sum of $69,083,400.00 Contract awarded to H. Nauth & Sons.
- Agricola Main Access (Brutus Street) Georgetown For the sum of g$48,696,570.00 Contract awarded to Guyamerica Inc.
- Essequibo Street, Lamaha Springs, Georgetown For the sum of $37,057,800.00 Contract awarded to Chung’s Global Enterprise.
- Tukeit Drive, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown. For the sum of $21,881,380.00 Contract awarded to K.P Thomas & Sons Contracting.
- Rehabilitation of William Street, Kitty, Georgetown For the sum of 17,030,940.00Contract awarded to Y. Bhola construction
- Rehabilitation of Critchlow Avenue, South Ruimveldt Park, Georgetown. For the sum of million $18,013,720.00 Contract awarded to Eron Lall Civil Engineering.
- Rehabilitation of Aubrey Barker Road, Georgetown. For the sum of million $19,237,700.00 Contract awarded to Y. Bhola construction
- Rehabilitation of Eleazar Street, D’Urban Back- lands, Georgetown. For the sum of million $18,312,650.00 Contract awarded to K.P Jagdeo General Contractor.
- Rehabilitation of Titus Street, Agricola For the sum of million $11,924,530.00 Contract awarded to Chung’s Global Enterprise
- Rehabilitation of Marabunta Street, Meadow Brook Gardens. For the sum of million g$22,321,110.00 Contract awarded to Chung’s Global Enterprise
- Rehabilitation of Meadowbank Access Road, Georgetown. For the sum of million $14,725,400.00 Contract awarded to Puran Brothers Inc.
Total for Region Four roads is $309,523,071
… more
Image: Pixabay
Read more
Representatives from the cruise lines and the engineering firm that are involved in the Verdant Isle group, which was selected by government to build the cruise berthing facility if it goes ahead, will be meeting with government and other stakeholders here in Cayman this week. In a press release the group said that these would be the first in a series of meetings over the coming months, which will include an open town hall. However, no date has been set for a face to face with the public.
The representatives include Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean; David Candib, Vice President Development and Operations of Carnival Corporation; Barry Loudermilk, Director, Business Development of Orian Marine Group; and Richard Noel, General Manager of McAlpine Limited in the Cayman Islands.
CNS understands that the group was due to meet at the George Town Yacht Club on Monday evening with tour operators, though it was said to be an invitation only event. The representatives are due to meet other stakeholders on Tuesday and the media on Wednesday. They will also meet with the Cruise Port Referendum campaigners, the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, and the young local climate activists from Protect Our Future.
In the press release about the arrival of the consortium representatives from local marketing company Tower, Michael Bayley said the meetings were to share information about the project and to listen to stakeholder needs and concerns.
“We are committed to being a proactive, approachable and positive community partner, emphasizing stakeholder relationships based on transparency and authenticity,” Bayley said.
It is now more than one year since government held the last public meeting regarding the controversial project. This was during the tendering process but well before the bidders were selected. However, Candib from Carnival and Miguel Reyna from Royal Caribbean were in attendance and sat with the tourism minister and civil servants from the procurement office overseeing the process.
… more
Image: Pixabay
Read more
