“Absolute nonsense” President Ali tells ‘greedy’ Govt. contractors

Nov 24, 2021 News

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….announces new contractual obligations for engineers on site

 “You want to do the big projects but at the same time you don’t want the small man to get the small projects,” President Ali railed.

Kaieteur News – Several of the large-scale contractors operating in Guyana were on Monday hauled over the proverbial hot coals, by Head of State, President Irfaan Ali, over a plethora of project woes being unearthed involving contractors, including the sidelining of smaller competitors by the larger companies.

This, among other damning disclosures, occurred when the President met with scores of contractors currently executing projects valued at $100M and above.
Venued at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), President Ali did not mince words, calling “absolute nonsense” some of the discoveries being uncovered.
He highlighted, among other instances, where several companies that would have already secured large scale contracts are also pursuing smaller contracts, such as those valued between $1M and $5M.
As such, the President was adamant this, in itself, not only affects the efficiency of the company executing the project, but also sidelines the smaller contractors.
Under the laws of Guyana, a minimum of 20 percent of small government contracts are supposed to be reserved for small contractors.
President Ali, in addressing the contractors, said, “I don’t want to see you bidding for a $100M contract, then bidding for a $1M contract, absolute nonsense for you and for us, because there is something called economies of scale and allocation of resources.”
To this end, the President explained, “if you are a tier one contractor and you want to spend the time to allocate resources on a $5M project, you will bust.”
He cited as an example, a company already executing three or four large projects, but still running after the region for a smaller project—somehow oblivious to the fact that each of the projects are being run simultaneously, and as such, resources would be stretched thin to the detriment of each of the projects involved.
“You want to do the big projects, but at the same time you don’t want the small man to get the small projects,” President Ali railed.
Further lamenting the state of affairs and its importance, the President reminded his audience that the matter of government projects and their execution was discussed at the level of the Cabinet Council of Ministers.
He disclosed that among some of the findings, is the fact that many of the companies, though listing an engineer on their bidding profile, do not in fact have such personnel onsite for the execution of the projects.
Additionally, the President noted that the administration has observed that, in many instances, several companies would bid for a project—each submitting the same name for its engineer.
To emphasize his position, the President announced, “I am putting you on notice” that, in future, government contracts will make special provisions/clause to force companies to secure their own engineers.
President Ali lamented too, that there are cases where “10 different contractors submitting same [the] engineer’s name in the bid documents.”
Moreover, he urged the contractors present to invest in capacity building and suggested in the interim likely waiver of import duties for items such as floodlights, in order to allow works to be executed during the course of the night.
According to the President, the engagement with the larger contractors operating in Guyana was being had as a result of, “a very rigid and robust discussion at level of cabinet.”
He told those in attendance “the same level of conversation we are having with you has already taken place at cabinet, so the Minister with sector responsibility [is] already on high alert.”
Additionally, he disclosed that the administration was at the time seeking to determine, “whether we have a systemic issue or we have an institutional issue,” and “from my evaluation we have neither a systemic nor institutional issue.”
The President was adamant that, in the next election cycle, his administration will be judged based on “our performance and that performance will be based on many factors.”
As such, he told the contractors present, “…unlike many of you, people will judge us based on our performance, based on factors involving you.”
He was referring to the need for the contractors to execute the projects they won on time, and to specifications.
The President told those in attendance, “we (the PPP Govt.) committed to fulfilling a mandate, bet your last dollar there is no way, absolutely no way we are not going to achieve that plan, every ounce of my energy, the Cabinet’s energy, my technicians’ energy, will be at achieving that mandate in the interest of Guyana and every single Guyanese.”
As such, the President told the contractors, “you are part of the mechanism that would allow or disallow this government from achieving its commitment to the people of this country…We are one team, all of us in here, we are one team with an objective to achieve one vision.”

 

 

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