All are not equal in Guyana

Jan 15, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

The Minister of Public Works (MoPW) held a recent Region #6 outreach where there was an ‘on the spot’ termination of a contract for one contractor due to non-performance in executing road works at El Dorado and the extension of a deadline for another contractor by giving an additional three (3) weeks to complete roadworks in Bristol Street.

The Minister will receive kudos for his decisive actions in cautioning or sanctioning the errant contractors; however, little will be said that these contractors should not have even been awarded these contracts in the first instance.

These roadworks fall under the MoPW Miscellaneous Roads portfolio and the Standard Bidding Documents for these contracts require that eligible contractors have specific experience in the last 3 years for similar projects. These errant contractors failed to reach this threshold, however, were still awarded contracts at the expense of eligible contractors, deemed unacceptable by MoPW because of their perceived political affiliation.

The inequality of contract awards has been highlighted on numerous occasions in the public sphere, whereby contractors that never existed three years ago with no road building experience, have been awarded multi-billion-dollar contracts. Cheap, shoddy, and defective works are in evidence everywhere, depriving stakeholders value for money.

These infractions and unequal contract awards have escaped the eagle eye of the Auditor General, whose gaze remains fixed on the lack of completed Bin Cards and incorrectly recorded Logbooks. The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) is in a comatose state, eight months after having been established for its new term, not a single investigation has been conducted, while billions are being wasted through awards to friends, family, and favourites.

The PPC’s excuse for their inaction is that “no complaints have been received to date”, which leads one to assume that the new PPC sees their role as simply a complaint resolution authority, rather than using their constitutionally provided powers to launch investigations based on reports in the public arena. The PPC is also empowered to recommend amendments to our procurement regulations and laws, which may result in more equitable distribution in contracts. But there has been no action or communication in this area either.

The sad reality in our One Guyana state, is that these errant contractors, simply have to register another company, under a different name and based on current PPP’s model, they will be eligible to partake in the 2023 budgetary bonanza. The President and his passionately supportive citizens (PSC), will take to the airwaves and lavishly praise the transformative works included in what will undoubtedly be the country’s largest budget, completely ignoring the unequitable treatment of many of our citizens. Our One Guyana is a two-sided coin, a pair of fraternal twins where the only equality is being in the same place at the same time.

The Bonanza that is the birthright of all Guyanese should result in a minimum standard of living that includes jobs with respectable salaries, healthcare, education, humane and respectful shelter for all and a meritocracy that creates a culture of high performance and respect. The people of Guyana will make the difference to this country, the respectful, equitable treatment of our citizens is what will make our country One Guyana – not PR and slogans and photo opportunities.

Irrespective of gender, race, age or political affiliation, the respectful, equitable treatment of our people, especially those who have the skills our country needs is what will produce a One Guyana that is truly made up of One People, One Nation with One Destiny.

Regards,

David Patterson

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Auditor General, Bristol Street, David Patterson, Minister of Public Works (MoPW), Standard Bidding Documents

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