Contract termination

Apr 26, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – The media recently covered two instances where contracts for public works were terminated in Mahdia. One project is for GY$87 million and being done by K&P Project Management, while the other is for GY$60.527 million and is being executed by United Contracting. Both projects involved road construction, and both are way overdue, with the timelines providing revelations on how some projects are handled and overseen in this country, and how long it takes to drop the hammer on those failing to deliver.

The $87 million road under the hand of K&P Project Management was signed in 2020 and should have been finished in six months. It is now past the middle of April 2023 and the road is still incomplete, according to the Ministry of Public Works. Interestingly, in June last year, Minister Juan Edghill had given K&P a deadline of a month to finish the remaining works. It follows, therefore, that this particular contract, if not satisfactorily finished, should have been cancelled by the end of July 2022. For this to occur some eight months later is too long, and it makes citizens and contractors conclude that the government is not serious. When a Minister announces that something will happen, if expectations are not met, then that consequence must follow in swift order. If the chronology of developments with this contract (signing, delivery date, delays, extension, and so forth) are accurate, it means that this road was overdue by at least a year and nine months. The government and responsible minister had to have acted sooner, if only to send a message that this kind of unacceptable contractor standard has gone on too long and patience is exhausted.

The second instance of contract termination involved the Danjah Hill road being constructed by United Contracting. It should have been done before Christmas 2022. Now, four months later, the $60.527 million contract had to be terminated, with only 42% of the work completed. For their part, contractors have given a number of reasons for their inability to hand over two completed road projects. Erratic weather pattern, shortage of stone, and equipment malfunction have all been blamed for the delays. Though those may have their merits, these two projects simply took too long to get finished. Additionally, it is our position that the government took too long to move on from the contractors to get the work done, so that residents in Mahdia could benefit.

Currently, the government can demonstrate how committed it is to holding contractors accountable, and to the letter of their contract terms, especially where time is concerned. There is the test case of a third road project in Mahdia, the main access road, for $108 million that is delayed. The foreman of the same United Contracting spoke of the poor weather impeding progress on the project, but with which claim both the visiting minister and area residents disagreed. Now, United Contracting has one month to finish this main access road. It would be interesting to learn what is the state of affairs by this time in May (of this year). There should only be one of two developments: the road is finished and handed over, or, if it is still incomplete in a month from now, then the contract is terminated immediately.

Taking this into consideration, and the recent development with the Sheriff Street/Mandela road, it could be said that the woes about delays and shoddy work with roads continue like before. It is our belief that these constitute mere drops in the big, rich infrastructure bucket of Guyana. Meanwhile, it is going to cost millions more to get these two roads in Mahdia completed, which raises the issue of how this impacts local taxpayers. They should not be made to pay a penny more, and the government should take steps to recover the monies advanced to the two contractors. Further, this sets a new standard, and one that should be consistently applied when there is failure by contractors. In doing so, the government sends the right messages, and there are powerful ones: do the job right and on time, and everyone will be pleased. Do it poorly, or in any old time, and there will be consequences.

Contract, K&P Project Management, Mahdia, Minister, Termination

Latest News

Contract termination

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 4th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

‘One Guyana’ 3×3 Quest tips off today

Twin tons from Anderson, Imlach steer Eagles back...

Race for quarterfinal spots commence today at MoE...

Marsh sets up Lucknow’s comfortable win...

Saints and GTI dominate as YBG Georgetown...

Carty misses ton, Hamilton (80) sets up tense...

Features/Columnists

The One-Man Republic

The U.S. “Joining” the Commonwealth: an unreasonable expectation

Polls – what they say, where I stand

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Contract termination

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 4th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]