{"id":33040,"date":"2024-03-07T23:59:11","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T04:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=33040"},"modified":"2024-03-07T17:11:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T22:11:34","slug":"agri-minister-says-works-underway-on-pump-station-controversially-awarded-to-tepui","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/agri-minister-says-works-underway-on-pump-station-controversially-awarded-to-tepui\/","title":{"rendered":"Agri Minister says works underway on pump station controversially awarded to Tepui"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Guyana<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-head\">\n<div class=\"article-headline\">\n<h4 class=\"article-subtitle\">\u2013 despite serious complaint before procurement commission<\/h4>\n<p>Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Wednesday announced that works had started on January 30th on the Belle Vue Pump station controversially awarded to the company, Tepui despite the fact that serious complaints have been made about its ineligibility for the task.<\/p>\n<p>The Sunday Stabroek on Friday visited the West\u00a0 Demerara location but saw no sign of works being conducted.<\/p>\n<p>Mustapha made the announcement to the Committee of Supply last week Wednesday during the consideration of estimates on the 2024 budget for the Ministry of Agriculture. This was\u00a0 following requests for updates by APNU+AFC MP Ganesh Mahipaul, on the delayed pump stations.<\/p>\n<p>Communications Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Janelle Cameron, when contacted on the project, stated that she would have to check with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) for an update. She later referred the Sunday Stabroek to the Head of the NDIA, Lionel Wordsworth but up to press time there had been no word from him.<\/p>\n<p>Works were originally slated to begin on June 27, 2023, after the $865 million Belle Vue pump station contract was awarded to the Tepui Group Inc.<\/p>\n<p>This however, attracted the attention of APNU+AFC MPs Mahipaul and David Patterson, who argued\u00a0 that the contract awardee did not meet the standard evaluation criteria for bidders.<\/p>\n<p>Patterson, who is the Shadow Minister of Public Works, told this newspaper on Wednesday that the Public Procurement Com-mission (PPC) which is tasked with investigating the controversial contract had held its statutory meeting on Thursday, January 11, but did not provide an update on the subject.<\/p>\n<p>He posited that the Procurement Commission has been evading the subject for roughly the last six months.<\/p>\n<p>The former minister asserted that his decision to take legal action against the commission for dereliction of responsibilities and inaction concerning this matter of public interest is \u201cunwavering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Alliance for Change member recapped that it has been six months since the Procurement Commission vowed a thorough probe of the controversial pump station contract, but to date, nothing has come out of that investigation.<\/p>\n<p>At a press conference held by his party in January of this year, Patterson said that in 2023 the PPC investigated 102 matters which were similar to contracts being awarded but did not meet the required evaluation criteria.<\/p>\n<p>Contextually, Patterson said, the PPC can very well conduct a thorough investigation into the matter but chooses not to do so since the disputed company is led by social media commentator, Mikhail Rodrigues who has privileged access to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stabroeknews.com\/2024\/02\/11\/news\/guyana\/agri-minister-says-works-underway-on-pump-station-controversially-awarded-to-tepui\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Image: pexels-connor-forsyth<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Guyana \u2013 despite serious complaint before procurement commission Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Wednesday announced that works had started on January 30th on the Belle Vue Pump station controversially awarded&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1091,"featured_media":33041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[250],"tags":[311,182,116,212],"class_list":["post-33040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-articles","tag-agriculture-fisheries","tag-caribbean-development-bank","tag-guyana","tag-water"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/pexels-connor-forsyth-3971795-scaled-e1709849392312.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-8AU","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38110,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/ndia-still-to-update-procurement-commission-on-tepui-pump-station-contract\/","url_meta":{"origin":33040,"position":0},"title":"NDIA still to update procurement commission on Tepui pump station contract","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"January 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Guyana More than a month later, the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) is still to be updated by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) on the progress of the Belle Vue pump station which was controversially awarded to Tepui Inc. A visit by the Sunday Stabroek to the site yesterday\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pexels-aleks-marinkovic-5213545.jpg?fit=1024%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pexels-aleks-marinkovic-5213545.jpg?fit=1024%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pexels-aleks-marinkovic-5213545.jpg?fit=1024%2C674&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pexels-aleks-marinkovic-5213545.jpg?fit=1024%2C674&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36434,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/ndia-still-to-provide-an-update-on-belle-vue-pump-station-info-for-ppc\/","url_meta":{"origin":33040,"position":1},"title":"NDIA still to provide an update on Belle Vue Pump Station info for PPC","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"September 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Guyana In the wake of Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha\u2019s July meeting with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Chairman Lionel Wordsworth has yet to provide a promised update on the status of documentation required by the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) on the Belle Vue Pump Station project. Wordsworth, who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Irrigation-of-rice-field-using-water-pump.-IRRI-CGIAR-System-Organization-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Irrigation-of-rice-field-using-water-pump.-IRRI-CGIAR-System-Organization-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Irrigation-of-rice-field-using-water-pump.-IRRI-CGIAR-System-Organization-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Irrigation-of-rice-field-using-water-pump.-IRRI-CGIAR-System-Organization-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31533,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/ppc-probing-complaint-over-belle-vue-pump-station-award-patterson\/","url_meta":{"origin":33040,"position":2},"title":"PPC probing complaint over Belle Vue pump station award \u2013 Patterson","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"December 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Guyana Former Public Works Minister David Patterson yesterday said that the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) has said that it has launched a probe into the contentious $865 million Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara, pump station contract awarded to the Tepui Group. The APNU+AFC MP told Stabroek News that this response\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pexels-pixabay-208661-scaled-e1701993214538.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pexels-pixabay-208661-scaled-e1701993214538.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pexels-pixabay-208661-scaled-e1701993214538.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pexels-pixabay-208661-scaled-e1701993214538.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33767,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/feud-between-critic-mohamed-could-spell-end-of-controversial-pump-station-contract\/","url_meta":{"origin":33040,"position":3},"title":"Feud between `Critic\u2019, Mohamed could spell end of controversial pump station contract","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"April 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Guyana A feud between social media personality, Mikhail Rodrigues and businessman, Azruddin Mohamed over finances could bring an end to the controversial award of the $865m Belle Vue pump station which had come under attack by opposition MPs. On social media yesterday, Mohamed disclosed that the contract of the Tepui\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-introspectivedsgn-9216590-scaled-e1713481531966.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-introspectivedsgn-9216590-scaled-e1713481531966.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-introspectivedsgn-9216590-scaled-e1713481531966.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-introspectivedsgn-9216590-scaled-e1713481531966.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36654,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/nptab-says-working-to-address-criticisms-by-procurement-commission\/","url_meta":{"origin":33040,"position":4},"title":"NPTAB says working to address criticisms by procurement commission","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"October 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Guyana Chairman of the NPTAB, Tarachand Balgobind said on Wednesday that he has acknowledged the criticisms of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) in its summary of findings regarding the tender board\u2019s timely submission of documents and is working to acquire a robust \u201celectronic records\u201d management system. As in\u00a0 the case\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Procurement-in-handwriting-The-Blue-Diamond-Gallery.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Procurement-in-handwriting-The-Blue-Diamond-Gallery.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Procurement-in-handwriting-The-Blue-Diamond-Gallery.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Procurement-in-handwriting-The-Blue-Diamond-Gallery.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30931,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/procurement-commission-to-discuss-controversial-865m-pump-station-contract\/","url_meta":{"origin":33040,"position":5},"title":"Procurement commission to discuss controversial $865M Pump Station contract","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"November 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Guyana The Public Procurement Commission plans to discuss the award of the controversial $865 million Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara, Pump Station contract which Member of Parliament David Patterson had written to it about, requesting that an investigation\u00a0 be launched, sources say. \u201cIt is on the agenda to be discussed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668858-scaled-e1699564529399.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668858-scaled-e1699564529399.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668858-scaled-e1699564529399.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668858-scaled-e1699564529399.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1091"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33040"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33051,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33040\/revisions\/33051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}