United States Virgin Islands
ST. CROIX — Dozens of local and foreign contractors attended a mandatory pre-bid conference call in May when the V.I. Office of Disaster Recovery issued 39 bids under the EnVIsion Tomorrow program, the Virgin Islands government-led program meant to repair storm-hit homes following 2017’s hurricanes Irma and Maria. During the call, ODR Director Adrienne Williams-Octalien acknowledged the program’s lackluster payment history.
“I know this program has had many issues in the past with payments, with overall processing, and we are attempting to streamline this process and get the resources out,” she said at the outset of that call. “But we also want to make sure that we get good pricing, and that our contractors understand the program, and that they are also able to move, navigate and have a successful experience with these federal dollars” from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department, commonly referred to as HUD, and administered by V.I. Housing and Finance Authority.
During the pre-bid meeting in May, Williams-Octalien also told contractors that their bids must account for the use of government-owned lumber.
“Contrary to public opinion, the material at the lumber yard is good, ‘tier one’ lumber,” Williams-Octalien said in May, repeating assertions she made to lawmakers on the Housing, Transportation and Telecommunications Committee in February. “So you know — those of you who are in the industry know — that you cannot buy ‘tier one’ lumber here in the Virgin Islands.”
Indeed, large quantities of lumber were sent to the territory through the Federal Emergency Management Agency after hurricanes Irma and Maria. The V.I. Housing Finance Authority, which later assumed control of the wood, issued a May 2020 request for proposals seeking a contractor to manage the lumber’s storage and distribution. Now, that award is at the center of an ongoing prosecution in the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands.
William Thelusma, of Nuvo Construction, told The Daily News hours before an indictment was unsealed back in June, that after years of the wood sitting out in the elements, “I don’t think it’s fair to go use that in somebody else’s house.”
Lumber languishes while some make millions
According to that indictment, Davidson Charlemagne, the Education Department’s facilities manager and his wife, Sasha, collected millions in federal disaster recovery dollars while storing the lumber rent-free on department property – the now condemned Alexander Henderson Elementary School. That school was also damaged when Maria, a Category 5 hurricane, wreaked havoc on the island on Sept. 20, 2017. Hurricane Irma, another Category 5 storm, had ravaged St. Thomas and St. John mere weeks before on Sept. 6.
Previously, the St. Croix lumber had been stored at Sunshine Mall in Frederiksted. At some point in 2020, the mall’s owner asked the government to remove the wood from his property, according to the indictment.
On Friday, hours after The Daily News story on EnVIsion Tomorrow program was published, ODR issued a Request for Proposals for warehouse and security services. It noted that the lumber on St. Thomas is stored at Frenchman’s Bay Quarter, specifically at No. 2-2 Bovoni.
The alleged scheme was partially obscured by the fact that Charlemagne’s company, D&S Trucking, was a subcontractor. The actual award went to Island Services Group, or ISG.
The indictment also charged former V.I. Housing Finance Authority Chief Operating Officer Darin Richardson with improperly awarding the $3 million contract in January 2021, and a bid from a rival company “was altered by unknown co-conspirators after it was submitted to VIHFA,” effectively rendering it less competitive.
The V.I. Housing and Finance Authority contract with ISG was amended at least five times, according to the amendments reviewed by The Daily News:
• June 2021 — The value of the contract was increased to more than $4 million and the term of performance was increased from 2.8-3 years. The June 13 indictment, however, claimed that the contract already had a three-year term.
• August 2021 — The value of the contract was increased again to more than $4.3 million.
• October 2021 — The value of the contract was increased again to more than $4.4 million.
• June 2023 — The signatures of both Charlemagnes appear for the first time, and the contract was amended to include language from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.
The original professional services contract and early amendments were signed by former-VIHFA Executive Director Daryl Griffith and Island Services Group managing partner Morris Anselmi. The amendments were also signed by Kimberley McCollum, who listed herself as a “member-manager” of ISG on a federal tax form. One later amendment was signed by Dayna Clendinen during her tenure as interim executive director of the Housing Finance Authority.
No members of ISG were named in the June indictment but, separately, a federal grand jury in February charged Anselmi and McCollum, a former president of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, with fraudulently taking in approximately half a million dollars in Paycheck Protection Program money.
The fifth and final amendment provided to The Daily News was dated May 16, 2024 — less than a month before federal prosecutors closed in. It was signed by Anselmi, McCollum, and Housing Finance Authority Director Eugene Jones Jr., who assumed leadership of the agency in April, and established a new three-year term ending in January 2027.
At the same time, federal prosecutors concluded in their initial complaint, “the woodpiles in St. Croix and St. Thomas remain almost entirely unused and stacked on pallets outdoors and exposed to the elements for more than three years.”
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Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo.- The General Directorate of Public Procurement (DGCP) has suspended the contracting process for the design, supply, and issuance of electronic passports due to findings that could violate the principles of participation, free competition, and equality.
This contract, classified under a “national security exception” and valued at 6,000 million pesos, received expressions of interest from 25 national and international companies by May 27. However, only two companies submitted bids, both of which are domestic, with one having prior contracts with the Passport Directorate. Among the 23 companies that opted out, several had connections to allied states and relevant experience.
In Administrative Act 036-2024, dated August 27, the DGCP cited preventive monitoring of the national security exception procedure and forwarded this to the Passport Directorate. The agency, which has faced recent passport supply challenges, has not issued a public response. DGCP is evaluating information from the Passport Directorate and has gathered data from the 23 companies that initially expressed interest but did not submit bids, raising concerns about the widespread withdrawal.
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Guyana
The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) has found that there were several breaches in the issuance of an $870 Million pump station contract to Tepui Incorporated, which is a recently established company that is managed by Social Media talk show host, Mikhail Rodrigues aka “The Guyanese Critic”. However, the Commission noted that it is unable to revoke the contract.
It was Opposition Member of Parliament, David Patterson, who lodged a complaint with the Commission, requesting an investigation to be done into the issuance of the contract to the company.
The almost one-billion-dollar contract issued to Tepui, sparked criticism from the Parliamentary Opposition.
The Opposition questioned the company’s experience in carrying out such a contract, and a red flag was also raised about the award when it was revealed that the company was not even the lowest or second lowest bidder.
In a 35-page long response to Mr. Patterson, the Procurement Commission detailed several irregularities found in the issuance of the contract, but admitted that there is not much it could do since the contract had already been signed and activated.
“Further, on the entry into a contract, privity of contract issues arises. There is nothing within the statutory framework which permits the commission to revoke, rescind, recall and or in any way alter, suspend or stop the contract once entered,” the Commission said in its report.
The Procurement Commission found that the breaches in the award of the contract could have been avoided, and explained that when Tepui entered its bid for the contract, it stated that it had completed similar works before. However, it was revealed that none of those works were completed, and are all ongoing.
The Commission found that the company’s experience could not be based on works which were not fully completed since the criteria required completion of similar projects.
“The Evaluation Committee, which was comprised of two Civil Engineers, appears to have exercised a professional judgment that the work involved in the projects submitted by the bidder were of sufficient complexity and similarity to be considered. Ostensibly, an evaluation, particularly of this criterion, would involve an exercise of judgment or opinion and as with judgments and opinions, there would be mixed views,” the Procurement Commission said in its detailed report.
According to the Procurement Commission whether the Evaluation Committee has a discretion in determining what is a “project of similar nature” is dependent on the terms of the evaluation criteria.
The PPC stated that while there may be precedent for the exercise of such professional judgment and or discretion, an Evaluation Committee should not assume such discretion onto itself but ensure that it is acting within the terms of the evaluation criteria for the specific tender being evaluated.
The Committee also found that instead of a line of credit from a commercial bank or recognized financial institution, the company instead submitted a line of credit from the Puran Brothers waste disposal company.
The company also submitted a letter of credit from CARICOM General Insurance company, instead of a financial institution in keeping with the requirements. The Procurement Commission stressed that Puran Brothers Disposal and CARICOM general insurance company are not financial institutions.
The company also submitted a bid bond from the Assuria Insurance company and not from a financial institution as is required by law. The Public Procurement Commission again noted that the insurance company is not a financial institution.
On the issue of the company being awarded the contract when it was the third lowest bidder, the Procurement Commission revealed that it was informed by the National Tender Board that the lowest bidder had already been granted a contract for another similar project.
The investigation by the Public Procurement Commission also found that the Tepui company did not submit any financial statements and also did not provide evidence of ownership of all of the equipment to offset the multi-million dollar contract.
Still with all of those breaches in the award of the contract, the Procurement Commission indicated that it could not revoke the contract at this stage.
Last evening, Minister for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, said the Government has noted the release of the investigation, and will take the recommendations on board.
He said the recommendations are useful for consideration going forward.
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Guyana
The fact that the procurement commission found major breaches in the evaluation process but said it could do nothing about the pump station contract awarded to Tepui Inc., is a dereliction of duty and indication of incompetence says APNU+AFC Member of Parliament David Patterson.
“From their response alone (the Public Procurement Commission) in other words is telling the public that a complaint can be filed concerning a contract being awarded in contravention of its bidding and evaluation criteria and once the investigations are done and the contract has already been successfully awarded there is nothing they can do about it, so in other words they are saying that they are useless”, Patterson told Stabroek News on Wednesday.
The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) on Tuesday issued a summary of findings in relation to Patterson’s complaint since he was not an aggrieved party and was therefore only entitled to recommendations on the way forward.
The PPC said “…on the entry into a contract, privity of contract issues arise. There is nothing within the statutory framework which permits the commission to revoke, rescind, recall and or in any way alter, suspend or stop the contract once entered”.
However the former Minister of Public Works during a telephone interview with Stabroek News maintained that the report was a sham by the procurement commission in its bid to show that it was doing its job.
The PPC’s findings will call into question its effectiveness in addressing contract irregularities particularly where a bidder does not complain within the prescribed period. Bidders are loathe to do this for fear of being excluded from future consideration of projects.
The Alliance For Change (AFC) executive said that the award of the $865m Belle Vue Pump Station to Tepui Inc. had raised questions in the public domain as to what made the company’s key principal Mikhail Rodrigues qualified for the contract as he was inexperienced in the field of construction.
Patterson maintained while the report may have outlined several flaws regarding the evaluation process by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, it did not stipulate the corrective measures in the event of a contract being awarded to an inexperienced company.
In its 35-page summary, the PPC elicited answers from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) – whose evaluation committee chose Tepui – and the procuring agency, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA).
Not only were both tardy in answering the PPC, but they only provided some of the documents requested. With this being cited in the report, Patterson commented that this “shows the regards these state agencies have for the commission as they did not even respond in time”.
Tepui was required to have had the experience of having completed one project of a similar nature within the past five years. Similar projects “shall include pump stations, sluices and drainage structures”. Having been incorporated less than a year before the contract award, Tepui did not have these qualifications, yet the evaluation committee of the NPTAB found its bid to be responsive.
When the PPC asked the NPTAB and the NDIA to justify their decision, they cited what they described as similar types of work which Tepui had done for other clients. They also admitted that two other tenderers for pump stations were similarly not qualified but that “lenience” was shown.
At this point, Patterson said, “What I found quite perturbing is that they cast blame on the evaluation committee at NPTAB, stating that the body misinterpreted the clauses in the documents and contended that they didn’t thoroughly follow the tender process, what they [the PPC] should have done was ensure that NPTAB and NDIA go back through the tender process and pinpoint what their errors were, you didn’t know what the criteria were and these guys did not follow it in this award because a lot of persons were disqualified, but they just took the report just as it is …no due diligence followed”.
The Member of Parliament also castigated the PPC for not mentioning cabinet reviews on the awarded contract in its report as it was mentioned several times during private parliamentary sessions.
The summary of findings said that the record before the PPC reflects that Tepui submitted two contracts to establish its credentials, to wit:
i. a contract between it and Hadi’s World Inc. dated March 27th, 2023, for the construction of a concrete wharf at Providence, and ii. a contract between it and the Central Housing and Planning Authority dated February 24th, 2023, for the upgrading of roads in Block 3, Great Diamond. These projects would not have qualified it.
The summary of findings also said that Tepui itself submitted as part of its tender, a letter addressed to the NDIA and dated June 13th, 2023, under the hand of “Winston Martindale, Director” captioned “Record of Past Work Experience” in which it is 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.”
Defending the two Tepui projects, NPTAB said in part that the “construction of a pump station and a pile bed foundation involves multifaceted tasks and material supplies to create robust infrastructure. Commonalities lie in foundational aspects, with earthworks for the pump station and pre-stressed concrete piles for the wharf providing stability. Structural works are vital in both projects, encompassing the construction of pile caps and beams for the pump station and various structural elements like deck slabs and U-beams for the wharf. Additionally, revetment works are necessary for both to prevent erosion and ensure long-term stability. Both projects require meticulous attention to detail in supplying and installing essential components such as steel frameworks and pumps. Furthermore, aspects like road access, internal landscaping, and electrical works contribute to the functionality and aesthetics of both structures”.
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 also 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.
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Guyana
The Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) has shortened the delivery time for an additional 60 megawatts (MW) of power it wants so that it can be prepared for increased demand during the cricket and Christmas seasons, Chief Executive Officer Kesh Nandlall says.
“We want to be prepared for an increase in demand and to ensure we have sufficient availability and in the system, not only now but between now and the time the gas to energy project comes into effect.
“We are in preparation for the holidays and CPL and everything else that comes up… we prepare to have more reserves because it is always better to have more than less …,” he said yesterday.
After signalling earlier this year that it would need additional power on standby while the power ship provides the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System with power, GPL placed a Request for Proposal (RFP) to supply 60 MW Net Power Generation Base load Capacity to DBIS through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and for it to be delivered 90 days after the contract was inked.
In May of this year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that government was exploring another power purchase agreement similar to the current one it has with a Qatari power ship company, Karpowership, but this time for some 30 MW more until the Gas to Energy project is completed. This was because government has forecast increasing demands next year.
“We are still looking for an additional 30 MW of power into the system, in a similar way to the arrangement we have with Karpowership, that is for two years, until the Gas to Energy (GTE) [project] comes on stream and is able to supply enough power to the country,” Jagdeo told a press conference he hosted at Freedom House, Robb Street.
Jagdeo said that as the powership began distribution, “This 36 MW would allow for maintenance of the other units” of the unity company that had been deferred.
And while the GPL RFP had said 90 days was delivery time, on Thursday it made public an addendum, informing that the 90 days period had been reduced to 30 days.
Nandlall said the reduction time was to expedite the process and ensure that systems were in place long before anticipated increased demand, as GPL “always want to be prepared for any eventuality.”
Tenders for that project are expected to be opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board on September 17th.
GPL has been criticized for poor planning of its short to medium term needs.
In the call for RFPs, GPL outlined that bidding will be conducted through the National Competitive Bidding (NCB) procedures, specified in the Procurement Act and that interested eligible bidders may inspect the bidding documents and obtain further information from its procurement office on Main Street during normal working hours.
“Bid documents will be available from August 23, 2024 and can be uplifted from the Procurement Office, Guyana Power and Light Inc. 40 Main Street Georgetown upon payment of a nonrefundable fee of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000),” the advertisement stated.
“Bids shall be submitted in a plain sealed envelope bearing no identification of the Bidder and marked on the top left hand corner “Supply of 60 MW Net Power Generation Base load Capacity to DBIS Through Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)”, it added noting that it must be addressed to the Chairman of National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Ministry of Finance, Main and Urquhart streets Georgetown, and deposited in the tender box no later than 09.00 hours on the 17th.
Bidders must submit one original (on paper) and two electronic copies (flash drive only) with an exact PDF version of the paper tender Ensure the envelopes of the original (in paper) and the two electronic copies are identically labelled. The two electronic copies should be placed in a smaller envelope and properly affixed to the original paper submission.
All proposals from local companies must also be accompanied by valid certificates of compliance from the Manager of the National Insurance Scheme, and the Commissioner of the Guyana Revenue Authority
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