The Schoonord to Crane Road Project

Sep 26, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

The Vice President Mr. Bharat Jagdeo has apparently issued a stern warning to heads, and accounting officers of public sector agencies to enforce strict compliance with procurement rules. The vice president had previously emphasised the importance of adherence to the Procurement Act and the necessity for fairness in awarding contracts, as reported in the July 26, 2024 edition of Kaieteur News.

The Procurement Act provides for the regulation of the procurement of goods, services and the execution of works, to promote competition among suppliers and contractors and to promote fairness and transparency in the procurement process. It sets out the procedures for the management of public procurement. Section 42 (1) of the Procurement Act states that ‘…the tender that has been identified as the lowest evaluated tender shall be accepted’.

Below are tenders received and contracts awarded for Lots 3-8 of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) Road Project – Construction of Four Lane Highway from Schoonord, WBD – Contract Awards – Tender Reference Number 31/2022/45.

As can be seen from the tables above for Lot 3 there were 18 bidders lower than the contract awardee L’Heureuse Construction and Services Inc.; for Lot 5 there were 20 bidders lower than the contract awardee AJM Enterprise; for Lot 6 there were 11 bidders lower the contract awardee Vals Construction; for Lot 7 there were 5 bidders lower than the contract awardee Puran Brothers and for Lot 8 there were 7 bidders lower than the contract awardee JS Guyana Inc. In all cases there were contractors with equal or superior experience who had lower tender prices. The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) in all the cited cases, based on the awards,  would have us believe that none of the tenders with lower bid prices were deemed ‘evaluated’ which strains credulity.

Lot 4, however, is the most egregious and strains credulity to breaking point. NPTAB seemingly dispensed with the concept of the lowest evaluated bidder altogether by awarding the contract to the highest bidder, GuyAmerica Construction Inc. and they did so at a price that was $690 million dollars above the Engineer’s Estimate.

If the Guyanese people are to be convinced of the Vice President’s sincerity and commitment to adherence of public procurement to the Procurement Act, he would do well to provide tangible evidence that these contract awards were indeed in accordance with the said act.

Yours sincerely,

C A. Nigel Hughes

Leader

Alliance for Change (AFC)

• accounting, Alliance For Change (AFC), C.A. Nigel Hughes, Leader, officers