Errant contractors to face legal proceeding for incomplete, substandard work on public projects - AG

Errant contractors to face legal proceeding for incomplete, substandard work on public projects – AG

Oct 20, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Kaieteur News – Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC said the government will be imposing strict actions against errant contractors who have been causing substantial disruptions with incomplete and substandard work on public projects.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC

Nandlall made the announcement during his programme ‘Issues in the News’ on Tuesday. He explained that at a recent Cabinet meeting; the government made a resolute decision to take robust measures against contractors who fail to fulfill their contractual obligations.

“These are contractors who are issued with contracts from the government and, for whatever reason, have been breaching those contracts causing tremendous delays in the execution and completion of public works across the country, stalling the government’s infrastructural development drive,” Nandlall said.

In order to tackle this problem, he stated that the Ministry of Finance has been given instructions to expeditiously carry out an audit to identify contractors who are not in compliance. Once identified, this information will be transferred to his office, noting that he has been explicitly instructed to inform the errant contractors of actions to be taken, enforce liquidated damages as permitted by contract terms, and commence legal proceedings for contract violation.

“We cannot continue to have contractors not discharging the contractual obligations in accordance with the contractual specifications. Government will not tolerate substandard work and breach of contracts from contractors who are paid billions of dollars to discharge their contractual obligations,” he said.

He continued: “Contractors who are performing well and who are discharging their contractual obligations have no reason to worry. The delinquent ones, however, that delinquency will attract certain legal consequences and the government intends to move strongly and swiftly in that direction.”

The Government of Guyana has been working to hold contractors accountable for failing to finish their projects within the allocated period. One such project is rehabilitation of the Leguan Ferry Stelling.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Works accused the contractor, Sattrohan Maraj of S. Maraj Contracting Services, which was contacted for undertaking works to the Leguan Stelling, of attempting to extort money from the government for the project. The ministry said the entity missed another contractual deadline to complete the structure, six years after the contract was signed under the previous APNU+AFC government.

A section of Leguan Stelling

Earlier this month, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill revealed the contractor requested more money from the government to complete the project despite the fact that a previously agreed-upon cost had already been approved.

The contract for the rehabilitation of the stelling was signed in 2018 and since then, the contract sum has increased from $413 million to $607 million.

However, Minister Edghill said, “a decision will have to be made if Mr. Maraj cannot finish what is to be done. There are many contractors in this country that can get the job done; we don’t have a shortage of contractors.”

The new deadline for the completion of the project was reset for July 2023; that date has also passed with no sign of the work being completed in the near future.