People should hold contractors responsible- Minister Patterson

Sep 27, 2016 News

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson is advocating for all citizens to hold contractors responsible for all state contracts. The Minister contended that each citizen has a right to demand value for money.
Patterson’s invited comments came yesterday as he spoke about an ongoing issue at Baracara. Residents of the community of Baracara, some 65 miles up the Canje River, have accused the Regional Administration and specifically the Regional Engineer of Region Six, of disrespecting them and trying to foist shoddy and substandard work on the community.
The work in contention is the construction of a revetment costing about $7.1M.
But the residents are refusing to sign the documents that signals their approval of the work done, thus the contractor has been unable to receive his $7.1M payment
According to contractual arrangements, residents in the area have to sign the relevant documents to indicate that they are satisfied with the work before the contractor could be paid. Following the uproar, the Regional Administration assembled a team which included Senior Superintendent of Works, Ruhullah Ali; Works Committee member Mr. Erwin Abdullah; and contractor Mark Gupta for discussions. During discussions with residents, it was decided that a lot more needs to be done.
The contractor is to return to the area with his machinery, including a dredge, to complete the job, which will now cost approximately $1M, but that will be at his expense.
Yesterday, Minister Patterson was asked about the possibility of more contracts like this being signed, where contractors can be held accountable by the people.
He said that the actual clauses to be included in contracts vary from region to region and from ministry to ministry; so, each ministry may set up contracts differently.
Patterson said that while he likes the kind of accountability that the contract for the revetment promotes, it is not feasible for his ministry to draft contracts of this sort. The Minister said, “It would be a statistical nightmare for us.”
Nevertheless, Patterson said, “I encourage citizens to be on the lookout. We all should keep an eye out to see that we are getting value for money.”
Patterson continued, “All citizens have a responsibility to report to the ministry if works are not done up to standard.” He said that the ministry would surely look into complaints. (Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell)

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