Company disappears after collecting over $100M for Road project - AG report

Company disappears after collecting over $100M for Road project – AG report

Nov 25, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – A company paid $132M to upgrade the Beterverwagting to Truimph, East Coast Demerara (ECD) road project has disappeared.

According to the Auditor General’s 2021 Report, some $112M was overpaid on the 2015 contract signed by the Ministry of Public Works. That amount is yet to be recovered.

The Report states that a total of $132.649M was paid to the Contractor of which, $20.649 was repaid to the Government.

The Report states that the Contractor was written to asking for the outstanding amount to be returned on September 11, 2019 and January 29, 2020, but no response has been forthcoming.

Officials attached to the Public Works Ministry reported that despite a reminder letter being sent to Contractor in January 2020, the Ministry has been unable to recover the $112M for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

The Head of Budget Agency has reported that the company was dissolved and advice was sought from the Ministry of Legal Affairs on the way forward.

Meanwhile, Auditor General Deodat Sharma has explained to Kaieteur News that based on an Agreement (Section 1.5) dated May 20, 2021 between the Government of Guyana and contracting firms, “… various Ministries & Departments and servants/ agents shall forebear from taking any steps to recover monies, debts and liabilities of the company until the expiry of seven years from the date hereof.”

The AG Report also mentioned overpayments to other Contractors. On another occasion, the sum of $14.806M advanced to a Contractor for the upgrading of the highway from Triumph to Mon Repos, is still to be recovered. The report noted that in this case the contracting company was dissolved and the company won judgment in the matter, thus making the collection of $14.806M a virtual impossibility.

In another case, the sum of $81.570M, which represents a Contractor’s indebtedness to the Ministry, is yet to be recovered. This matter is before the High Court.

Similarly, the sum of $100M overpaid on the contract for the upgrading of the road from La Bonne Intention to Beterverwagting is still to be recovered. The total sum overpaid was $120.683M, of which, $20.683M was repaid by the Contractor.

Officials attached to the Public Works Ministry stated that reminder letters were sent to the Contractor in February 2019.

However, there have not been any additional recoveries.

According to the Head of Budget Agency, despite a reminder letter being sent to the contractor in January 2020, there have been no further recoveries for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

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