Belle Vue Pump Station

May 24, 2024 Editorial

Kaieteur News – The Belle Vue Pump Station contract award for $865M presents a study in how the PPPC Government conducts the business of the taxpaying public. Every cent of that $865M award is being borne by taxpaying citizens, and all that one has to do is start with the award itself, proceed to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and close out with the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB). From all indications, the trust of Guyanese is being taken advantage of, with shabby outcomes happening repeatedly.

The $865M contract was awarded by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to Tepui Group, Inc. The award raised a firestorm of condemnation on NPTAB. The Tepui Group did not meet stated technical eligibility criteria for the project, including related experience and the knowhow to deliver. Yet the contract was awarded to this questionable group, so palpably deficient. It was not the first time that what reeks of political influence, and discarded processes, has met with the approval of NPTAB.

The oversight Public Procurement Commission was forced to declare, after much foot-dragging and an artfully worded report, that the contract award was flawed in several respects, the evaluation process was not credible. Still, the $865M contract award, troubling in the beginning, and worsening with every new development since, has been left alone, notwithstanding all the furious objections, with work proceeding. Now, it is scheduled to be completed by August. After all the noise from the political opposition, protests from some voices in civil society, and the negative report of the procurement commission, the status quo remained, viz., z wrong has not been righted, and legitimate bidders meeting all the eligibility requirements lost again.

There were even some critical comments from the PPPC Government itself, including no less an authoritative figure than Vice President Jagdeo about who has the power to take corrective action. But it all came to nought with the unsupportable practices of NPTAB left to stand, as in no cure. In this country, justice has its limitations, those to whom it applies, those who are exempt. It is how prearranged deals come to life, with one fix after another inserted into public processes to assure smooth passage for those with close relationships to high government and party officials. Guyanese taxpayers pay a tough price on each occasion and are continually made into fools.

The EPA got into the act with its conclusion that the $865M Belle Vue Pump Station contract and associated works did not need an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). We are searching our memory for the last time that the EPA decided that an EIA was warranted on any project and ordered one. Instead of being keen to protect the interests and welfare of Guyanese, the EPA is perfectly content to be a partner in charades. The stream of farces in that it pushes into the public domain as representative of fulfilling its critical responsibilities in a convincing manner. To extend the pretense of vigilance for Guyanese, the EPA was kind enough to open a 30-day window for the lodging of objections or concerns with project. In a country with public institutions renowned and revered for their honest and believable commitment to their sensitive duties, the EPA’s 30-day window for healthy public input would be laudable. Sad to say, Guyana’s public institutions, almost without exception, are in tatters, delivering shams and cons to mislead citizens. Public consultations and windows for objections are well known locally for the jokes they have become, with oil consultations the biggest jokes around. To bring the comedy full circle with this sordid $865M Belle Vue Pump Station contract, the EPA referred the concerned and objecting to write to the EAB, thickening the joke.

The EAB is part of the continuum in this sordid pump station soap opera. A local court recently pronounced two of the three members sitting on its panel as having a conflict of interest. How could they not have such, when their bread comes from a government (PPPC) where flaws and farces are supported by layers upon layers of special kinds of fixes. To repeat the obvious, the $865M Belle Vue Pump Station award is seen as merely the tip of a big iceberg.

Belle Vue Pump Station, citizens, National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), PPPC, Public Procurement Commission

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Belle Vue Pump Station

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Belle Vue Pump Station

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