CH&PA to plug $172M into Perseverance roads rehab

Feb 08, 2017 News

…after spending over $100M on defective turn-key homes

After expending over $100M to rectify defective turn-key homes at Perseverance, East Bank Demerara, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) will be plugging an approximate $172M to rehabilitate roads within the development.
The Project is the brainchild of the former regime – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
The current Government has lamented the inheritance of the development, highlighting the lack of oversight by the past administration to ensure that homeowners got value for money.
One of the bidders for the project told Kaieteur News at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) yesterday that the monies spent to rectify the turn-key homes, could have now been spent to rehabilitate the roads in the area.
The contractor explained that “If you twist and turn it, Housing (CH&PA) will be over $172M poorer,”
The project, since its launch around 2011, faced criticisms after it was discovered that some of the homes were not properly constructed. This led to fingers being pointed at the CH&PA and the then Minister responsible for Housing, Irfaan Ali.
The criticisms escalated since there were no clear indications of the procedures that were used to hire contractors and whether these fell in line with the accepted national procurement processes.
After the change in government in May 2015, the new CH&PA Board launched investigations into various housing programmes, including the turnkey project.
A key official had told Kaieteur News that there existed a “wild-west” situation when it came to ensuring value for money and the turn-key homes.
Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Patterson, last December stated that several new homeowners complained that structures – which cost up to $4.9M ($4.4 M for the house and $500,000 for the land) were poor.
In 2016, the CH&PA birthed an initiative to carry out remedial works on these defective buildings and also completed some of the structures.
Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan reported in January this year that a total of 90 existing turn-key structures at Perseverance were completed and remedial works were completed on 70 others. However, no new houses were constructed.
The table below contains the names of the bidders that submitted tenders for the contract to rehabilitate the roads, along with their bid prices.

The CH&PA was also listed as the procuring entity for the contract to upgrade roads at No.76 Village, Corentyne Berbice. The engineer’s estimate was announced at $47.1M.