$1.1B Haags Bosch settlement…Minister dubs BK as a vulture for demanding more monies

Apr 27, 2017 News

Months after agreeing to a billion dollar settlement for work done on the Haags Bosch landfill, a

Minister Ronald Bulkan

prominent contractor has demanded more, but it is not going down well with the administration.
Kaieteur News understands that recently, the contractor – Brian Tiwarie of B.K. International Inc. – wrote the Ministry of Communities, stating that he should receive more monies.
According to reports, B.K. was asking for $1.191B, some $14M more than the $1.177B (US$5.7M) that the ministry had agreed to pay the company for outstanding works done on the Eccles landfill area.
B.K. was reportedly basing its arguments on the fact that the exchange rates had gone up. However, it appears that the demand displeased the ministry.
Writing Tiwarie, Minister Ronald Bulkan reportedly last week disagreed and made it clear that request was unreasonable and consistent with the actions of a “vulture”.
The letter to B.K. was copied to the Attorney General, Basil Williams, and to Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, among others, Kaieteur News was told.
Yesterday, Bulkan when asked if he wrote to B.K, would neither confirm nor deny.
“One would have thought that B.K. and Mr. Tiwarie would have been ecstatic that we have opted to have this matter settled and not drawn out in court.”
Guyana first learnt that the administration was working on a settlement early last year with an announcement last July that it was agreed that B.K. will receive US$5.7M, down from the US$10M that had been demanded for work done on the dumpsite.
The company’s services of managing the Haags Bosch Landfill were terminated by the government in December 2015.
The administration had been hard-pressed to explain why it decided not to contest the matter of compensation to B.K. in court. They explained that the landfill and its management were critical and therefore the matter had to be brought to a closure with B.K.
It had ended up before the National Assembly. A new contract has been awarded to Puran Bros.

B.K.’s chief, Brian Tiwarie

The facility was opened in early 2011, replacing the dumpsite at Le Repentir Cemetery in the city, which had to be closed because of health and capacity reasons.
Under the arrangements, BK was supposed to be paid for every tonne of waste processed.
The matter came to a head when the administration of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic on February 27, 2015, terminated BK’s contract for the construction and operations of the landfill. The government said that the company had missed deadlines and committed other breaches.
On March 13, 2015, BK through his lawyer, Devindra Kissoon, filed a lawsuit asking Chief Justice (Ag) Ian Chang, to overturn the decision of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development to terminate the contract.
As of July 23, 2013, the Ministry had reportedly owed BK some US$324,677, the monies being for work done since 2012.
Aside from this, BK had filed claims against the Ministry for breaches in the contract for US$8M.