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Minister urges contractors to produce better work
Only contractors who produce quality work with adequate, proper and relevant equipment would be awarded contracts so as to have quality finish projects in a timely manner, says Juan Edghill, Junior Finance Minister.
Poor quality works and limited equipment were some shortcomings of local contractors highlighted by Edghill at the just concluded Procurement Symposium.
Some of the potholes in Third Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, with road material pushed to the side and piled up at the corners.
He was at the time addressing members of the private sector including contractors, investors and commercial banks at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Pattensen.
According to the Minister, contractors and builders must abide by rules and regulations. As such, he will ensure that contractors who are awarded projects are those who produce quality work and have “proper” equipment.
Edghill said that based on a report he was preview to, some contractors only deliver roads with ¼ of the required thickness, according to the scope of the works. This, he suggested, could be the cause for fast deteriorating roads in Guyana.
For years, citizens across Guyana have been complaining about shoddy works executed by contractors. They continuously question how contractors who deliver shoddy works were awarded additional contracts. They also questioned the abilities of Government’s Engineers and Clerks of Work in indentifying poor quality works.
Only recently, a female resident of Third Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, told this publication that her community road, which was rehabilitated about six years ago, had developed massive potholes. And, a contractor was seen removing building material from the surface of the road leaving a trail of red sand.
“The men dem come in about two weeks ago and started to clear off the road pushing everything in a corner. After they done the lil red sand wuh been lef’ underneath the road and they smooth it out”, the resident noted.
She added that owing to the current inclement weather, construction on the road halted.
“I don’t get it at all why these people bent on wasting taxpayers’ money. They clear the road, smooth it out and now when the vehicles pass and the rain come down it got potholes again and they gonna have to spend more money to clear it”, the woman said.
A male resident said that the workers “wasted time” and allowed the rainy season to destroy what was already done.
“I mean we thankful for what they did because when the rain fall is a messed-up situation but they wasted effort, money and production. We ended up right where we started and that don’t make sense,” the man said.
He added that after the original road material was removed, it was obvious why the road had deteriorated in the first place. “De previous men dem did sloppy work, I tell the neighbours dem this road finish too quickly. When they lift off the road it was clear that they just put a cover over it.”
When this publication visited the location, broken road material was seen stored along the shoulders of the road, and the recently graded stretch has several potholes.
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