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GPL fails to justify purchase of eight bucket trucks for $587M
State-run company, the Guyana Power & Light Incorporated (GPL), has failed to justify the purchase of eight bucket trucks, which carried a price tag of some $587 million, despite promising to do so yesterday.
De facto Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL, Albert Gordon, had promised to dispatch a press release to the media last evening, which was aimed at explaining why those maintenance trucks were purchased at such a hefty price, whether the trucks were acquired through the required procurement laws, who signed for the vehicles, which company the trucks were purchased from, among other concerns.
Early yesterday afternoon Kaieteur News had reached out to Gordon seeking answers, but he informed this publication that he wished not to comment on the issue, since his agency was planning on releasing a statement to the press. Subsequent to that phone call, Kaieteur News liaised with the GPL Public Relations Officer (PRO), Shevion Sears, who maintained that a statement would be issued.
Up to press time, Kaieteur News was in receipt of no statement.
GPL paid $253,337,460 for four IVECO trucks. These are the “Versa SST 40 Bucket Truck (45 feet)” models. This meant each cost $63,334,365. According to quotes from suppliers, one of the new trucks could be acquired for less than $25M. GPL would therefore, for these four trucks, paid more than $30M each or $130M.
Kaieteur News, as of yesterday, did not receive the quotes for the bigger, longer-reach IVECO/VST 5500 Utility Truck (65 feet) models, acquired at a total cost of $333,766,320 or $83,441,580 each. The price difference, though a few millions more, would definitely not attract the $83M that GPL said it paid, the newspaper was told.
The contract was awarded by GPL in January to Massy Motors (Guy) Limited. According to the order, GPL paid Massy Motors 30 percent in advance with 60 percent of the monies after the trucks would have arrived. The remaining 10 percent is due after 30 days of receipt of the trucks.
The trucks are said to be all part of the fleet maintenance for GPL and to be used by the Generation Department. It is unclear what procurement procedures were used for the procurement of the trucks.
In our previous reporting, an official of GPL said that a statement would be issued shortly on the almost $600M purchase. He said that from his knowledge, the acquisition of the bucket trucks was in the works for about two years now and would have been advertised on GPL’s website. He was unable to say if it was advertised in the local media; he did, however, say that the vehicles were new ones. That statement, like the one promised yesterday, never materialized.
In recent weeks, there has been growing evidence of a number of questionable transactions by various government departments.
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