Guyana
The bond submitted by terminated road contractor, N&S General Engineering Contracting Services, to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) will be tapped to repay the Ministry of Public Works, Board Chairman Tarachand Balgobin has disclosed
“As part of the bidding document, bidders have to submit a security bond. If they default, then you hold that security. So there is no loss in this case. We held it and the ministry will recover their money,” Balgobin said in response to the Sunday Stabroek on the issue.
N&S General Engineering Contracting Services won a contract to construct one kilometre of road into El Dorado – a continuation of the Moleson Creek to El Dorado road project which is vital for the construction of the planned Corentyne Bridge.
The company’s head, Shazad Sattaur, 36, has declined to speak on the issue.
Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, disclosed that the contractor had uplifted a mobilisation advance of $22 million some eight months ago but failed to start any sort of work at the location.
The company was called in by the ministry and given several notices about not starting the contract, but to no avail.
The contractor, according to the minister, “indicated that he was having trouble getting materials.”
And when he did, Edghill said that the ministry called a Berbice supplier and arranged for the contractor to get all the materials needed, with the understanding that the supplier would be paid directly by the ministry from the contractor’s sums for the contract.
“He already had money – the mobilization advance – we said we will pay directly from the contract sum to the supplier. He agreed to that but went back to Berbice and nothing,” he added.
Fed up with complaints from citizens and checks by the ministry on the progress of works, Edghill said he decided to visit but the contractor failed to show on the day of the visit. “He knew I was visiting and he was not there.”
It was during that visit that the minister announced the sacking of the company.
Edghill subsequently told this newspaper that he has written the national tender board and will also notify the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) as to why the ministry no longer wishes the sacked contracting firm to undertake any of its other projects.
Sounding a warning to other prospective contractors across the country, Edghill cautioned that they should take heed because the same fate awaits them should they default on contracts awarded.
“I would expect that everyone listen to me because this is a warning. Every time we deal with a contractor, they have to understand that this will come their way if they behave the same. I went to Mahdia and dealt with the man with the half road and I think everybody understands,” he said.
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Guyana
A Berbice contractor was yesterday remanded to prison after he was charged with causing death by dangerous driving following an incident in Canefield, East Canje Berbice, where it is alleged that he rammed his vehicle into a crowd.
Shazad Sattaur, 36, of Lot 1294 Glasgow Housing Scheme, East Bank Berbice appeared at the Reliance Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh where he was charged with causing the death of Somdatt Indal, also known as “Fats”, 51 of Lot 1178 Canefield Settlement, East Canje Berbice, by dangerously driving motor pick up GZZ 8988 on Sunday.
Sattaur, who was represented by Attorney at Law, Mursaline Bacchus, was not required to enter a plea to the charge.
He was also charged with failure to report an accident, failure to stop after an accident and failure to render assistance to the injured persons, all of which he pleaded not guilty to.
Bail was denied for those counts and Sattaur was remanded to prison.
He will return to court on February 17.
Sattaur is accused of ramming his Tacoma vehicle into a crowd at a wedding house in Canefield, East Canje Berbice around 1 am on Sunday.
Indal died as a result of the incident, while injured are Dion Kistan, 11, a student of the Canje Secondary School and of Lot 23 Goed Bananen Land, East Canje, Berbice; Leon Reis, 26, of Lot 1143 East Canefield, East Canje, Berbice; and Daniel Sackichand, 21, of Adelphi Village, East Canje, Berbice.
Kistan who sustained a broken leg and major injuries to his other leg, underwent emergency surgery at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital following the incident.
Reports say that some of the injured persons were at a wedding in Canefield Settlement, East Canje, Berbice. Stabroek News was told that a young man there became involved in an argument with several others and decided to telephone his cousin, (Sattaur) who arrived in his Tacoma vehicle.
Eyewitnesses said that the vehicle bore the sign N&S Contracting, which Sattaur owns.
After the driver also reportedly got involved in the argument, some people attempted to block his vehicle; he then allegedly drove into a crowd hitting people who had not been involved in the argument.
This newspaper was told that Indal, who was standing at a distance, was first struck and sustained major injuries to his head.
Kistan, who was visiting Canefield to spend the weekend with his grandmother, was riding through the area with his uncle when they were struck down.
Both Indal and Kistan were flung into the air and landed on the road surface as a result of the impact, while the two other injured men were pitched into a nearby drain.
The driver then fled the scene leaving the deceased and injured lying on the roadway. His escape was caught on camera by persons at the location.
The injured persons were picked up by relatives and taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital; Indal was pronounced dead on arrival.
Earlier this month, Sattaur’s contract for the El Dorado road which his company failed to start some eight months after receiving funds for mobilization was terminated by Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill.
Following that, the Ministry of Public Works wrote to the national tender board and had planned to notify the Public Procurement Commission why it no longer wished N&S General Engineering Contracting Services, to undertake any of its other projects, Edghill had said.
“As for bidding again? Not at the Ministry of Public Works. We have written the Tender Board indicating that this is [an errant] contractor and he should not be engaged in works at the ministry. Any other ministry wants to take him, fine, but not here. I am not here to curry favour with anybody and there are rules of engagement,” Edghill had said.
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Guyana
Contractors’ transgressions from failure to start contracted works to inferior quality construction (e.g., “Edghill terminates El Dorado Road contract -after contractor fails to start work “, SN, Jan 14, 2023; “Likely poor design caused crumbling of Burma Road”, KN, Jan 11, 2023; “Tenders for security services and others”, KN, Jan 27, 2003; “Poor work being executed on the Parika-Hubu road”, SN Oct 12, 2022) continue to plague the many transformational infrastructural works undertaken by the PPP/C government. Why do these transgressions, described in the Auditor’s reports 2019, 2020 (projects under the previous government), almost weekly media reports, letters from professionals and citizens in newspapers, citizen and Government officials’ verbal complaints captured on video footage and distributed on social media, continue unabated?
The PPP/C government clearly wants to fulfill its manifesto’s promises to the people. To do so it has embarked on constructing, rebuilding, and repairing a myriad of roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, government services’ buildings, and energy generating plants (e.g. the gas-to-shore facility). In addition, the government approved construction of new hotels, commercial and residential buildings. Some of the latter are undertaken by the government to meet its manifesto’s obligations.
Guyana, an impoverished nation just prior to oil and gas discoveries and production, and the current government, is in a transitional economic state. To undertake just the ongoing construction works requires multiple planning, design, construction, and management skill sets. It seems obvious from the President and various Ministers’ regular remonstrations, when visiting construction sites, that these skill sets are absent or, at least, deficient. The scale of infrastructure developmental projects is incongruent with the available technical human resources. In conventional civil engineering practice, the transgressions that have been noticed, agonized, and handled by the President and various Ministers are dealt at the project engineer’s level, many levels below a ministerial position.
After a policy decision is made, the process for construction works such as a road requires conceptualization, planning including economic viability, feasibility studies, engineering design abiding by codes and standards, specifications, contracting, project management and quality control. This process, if carried out efficiently and effectively, leads to value – getting your money’s worth. The policy decision is a political one, but the process is completely technical. A politician should never micromanage the process, even if he/she is technically qualified. The complaints that arise indicate that the process is seriously flawed.
Where are the flaws? The answer requires a comprehensive study beyond this newspaper letter. However, from the reported transgressions, there are two areas – contracting and project management – that are obviously dysfunctional. The National Procurement and Tender Administration (NPTA) (https://www.npta.gov.gy/) processes contracts according to the Procurement Act (2003). Two types of contracts – open and sole source – are described and administered by NTPA. For details of these contractual types, the reader is advised to check out the NPTA’s website given above and the Guyana Dialogue’s event on January 12, 2023 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTbxzfK_tAQ; https://www.theguyanadialogue.org) for an overview. The NPTA‘s procedure follows international standards for transparency, non-discrimination, and meritocracy.
Many of the delinquent and derelict contractors were awarded contracts based on the open process. Under this process, the contract is awarded to the contractor who meets the minimum qualifications and the lowest price. A bidder with the lowest price who does not meet the minimum qualifications is a loser. This is standard international practice and not only a Guyanese practice. The winner is required to produce acceptable current evidence of qualifications and finance before awarded the contract. Sole source contracting is used when specialized or best-in-class skills or equipment or a particular commodity is required. Often, sole source contracting is associated with allegations of corruption.
So, why did these contractors default? Are the qualifications, which include among other requirements experience on similar projects, adequate human resources, and equipment, too low or not rigorously evaluated? Is the evidence of qualifications and finance not meticulously validated? Again, these answers require investigative reporting beyond this newspaper letter.
Regardless of the outcome of the contracting process, it is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that public projects are managed to satisfy the design (embedded in engineering drawings and specifications), quality and cost. It is the writer’s opinion that the crux of the problem lies in project management (“Ali administration urgently needs contract management for planned infrastructural boom,” SN Jan 7, 2022). It is not the citizen’s responsibility to report on a contractor’s default, nonperformance, or noncompliance. In fact, calling on citizens to report on contractors’ blunders or malpractices is detrimental. Projects must be professionally managed by experienced, technical staff. As alluded to earlier, the Government lacks the required technical human resources, or some technical staff are corrupt, or both. In addition, a master infrastructure developmental plan (blueprint), building codes and Standards are woefully absent.
It is commendable that the Government under the leadership of President Ali has embarked on the numerous infrastructural works to transform Guyana. The legacy of these works in improving the lives and livelihood of Guyanese requires value engineering. Quality project management is a key mechanism through which value can be realized. One way to stem the contractors’ transgressions is to fast-track training in project management, state-of-the-art technology tools for project management, training and certification of contractors.
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Guyana
As the government accelerates its infrastructure development program, the Public Works Ministry has issued a request for proposals for a variety of marine defense projects in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Ten.
This comes only days after the $781.9 billion budget was approved, with the lion’s share, a whopping $136 billion, set aside for the progress of infrastructure projects.
This significant investment in infrastructure is part of the government’s long-term strategy to build for the future.
The ministry did, however, reveal that these bids will be opened on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office, and that the projects will be divided into 25 lots.
The development of rip rap sea barriers in La Resource/Delight, Maria’s Good Intent, Abrams Zuil, and Cullens, Essequibo Coast, is estimated to cost $402 million for Region Two.
Similar work is planned for Region Three at Zeelandia Estate, Belle Plaine, Maria Johanna, Zeelandia (Ganga), and Uniform, Cane Garden, Okum/Retrieve, Belfield, on Leguan Island, as well as Uitvlugt, Anna Catherina, Zeeburg, and Zeelugt, at a cost of more than $1.7 billion.
Meanwhile, in Region Four, rip rap river defences will be built at Friendship, East Bank Demerara, and a timber revetment structure will be built at Cambridge, Mahaica, at a cost of $99 million and $77 million, respectively.
A total of $190 million is projected to be allocated to Region Five for the construction of rip rap sea barriers between Weldaad and Washington, West Coast Berbice.
A total of $23 million is estimated for the construction of a timber revetment structure along the Abary River Dam in East Coast Demerara, as well as $359 million for work between Bygeval and Essex in Mahaica.
Work is planned for Crabwood Creek, No. 81 settlement, and the Corentyne between Wellington Park and Eversham in Region Six. The cost of these renovations is estimated to be $318 million.
Finally, an estimated $138 million is set aside for Region Ten to fund construction at Speightland, Linden.
The construction and upkeep of marine defense buildings is critical for the security of riverine populations and farmlands, as well as the preservation of Guyana’s agricultural produce.
The budget for this year includes $4.9 billion for the protection and preservation of the country’s sea and river defenses.
On Friday, the ministry also issued a request for proposals for the rehabilitation of several public and main access roads, including a section of the Black Bush Polder Road in Yakusari, Region Six, the Black Bush Polder Road in Johanna, Region Six, Canal No. 1 (Phase 5), Region Three, and Canal No. 2 Polder Road, Region Three.
Bids for this project will be opened at the NPTAB headquarters on March 1, 2023.
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Guyana
The Ministry of Public Works has written the national tender board and will also notify the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) why it no longer wishes sacked contracting firm, N&S General Engineering Contracting Services, to undertake any of its other projects.
“As for bidding again? Not at the Ministry of Public Works. We have written the Tender Board indicating that this is [an errant] contractor and he should not be engaged in works at the ministry. Any other ministry wants to take him, fine, but not here. I am not here to curry favour with anybody and there are rules of engagement,” Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill told the Sunday Stabroek during an interview.
Sounding a warning to other prospective contractors across the country, Edghill said that they should take heed because the same fate awaits them should they default on contracts awarded.
“I would expect that everyone listen to me because this is a warning. Every time we deal with a contractor, they have to understand that this will come their way if they behave the same. I went to Mahdia and dealt with the man with the half road and I think everybody understands.
“You cannot give me half a road if I paid you for a whole road. You have to get my work done. I have to come to the Parliament. I have to answer the questions. I have to account for the money that I get and answer to the people of Guyana for what I did on their behalf with their money,” he added.
He said that personally, his ministry’s works are reflective of him and he will have to also answer for it “when I go to the polls the next time…I am very serious about my work,” he stressed.
N&S General Engineering Contracting Services won a contract to construct 1 km of road into El Dorado – a continuation of the Moleson Creek to El Dorado Road project which is vital for the construction of the planned Corentyne Bridge.
The company’s head, Shazad Sattaur, 36, has declined to speak on the issue.
Edghill disclosed that the contractor had uplifted a mobilisation advance of $22 million some eight months ago but failed to start any sort of work at the location.
The company was called in by the ministry and given several notices about not starting the contract, but to no avail.
“When he wasn’t performing, he got a letter of poor performance from the ministry, highlighting to him that ‘you are not performing’. Time is passing etcetera. This gentleman got several letters. The residents of the community would have been complaining. Here it is one section of the road is completed by another contractor and his section nothing has happened. They are still in mud, almost to their waist sometimes. I did call him into my office, we had discussions about his poor performance; about what could be done to ensure we get the programme delivered. More than anything else, we want our roads to be built. Terminating the road is a last resort,” he said.
The contractor, according to the minister, “indicated that he was having trouble getting materials.”
And when he did, Edghill said that the ministry called a Berbice supplier and arranged for the contractor to get all the materials needed, with the understanding that the supplier would be paid directly by the ministry from the contractor’s sums for the contract.
“He already had money – the mobilization advance – we said we will pay directly from the contract sum to the supplier. He agree to that but went back to Berbice and nothing,” he added.
Fed up with complaints from citizens and checks by the ministry on the progress of works, Edghill said he decided to visit but the contractor failed to show on the day of the visit. “He knew I was visiting and he was not there.”
It was during that visit that the minister announced the sacking of the company.
He explained that while he orally informed the company, certain formal steps had to be triggered and these were done, where the procuring agency informed of the termination and notified the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
NPTAB was also written to by the ministry, explaining the reason for the termination and requesting that the company not be given any other contract for that ministry.
Debarring
The Sunday Stabroek reached out to NPTAB on the issue. The NPTAB said that while the PPC is the regulatory agency to direct debarring of contractors, the fact that the company now has to its name the abandonment of a project, it would not be recommended by evaluators even if it bids again.
“One of the criteria in the bid documents is that [there be] no terminated or abandoned projects [in the company’s records. So the evaluators will see that they had a terminated contract and not recommend them,” the NPTAB said in a response.
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