— Minister Lall tells Region Nine officials

Minister of Local Gov’t and Regional Development Kellawan Lall meeting with Region’s Nine Public Works Committee at the Lethem Guest House.

It is against this background that Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Kellawan Lall and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Sewchan paid a three-day visit to Region Nine, (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo). The team was accompanied by Regional Chairman Clarindo Lucas, Regional Executive Officer Donald Gajraj and other regional officials.

Meetings were held with the various Heads of Departments including education, health and public works, representatives of the Region’s Public Works Committee, and Chairman and representatives of the Region’s Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) at the Conference Room, Regional Guest House and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Lethem.

The Department Heads were informed of the new tender process and civil works tender documents. To correct bottlenecks in the system, and promote effective accountability and transparency, and based on consultations, Government has taken the decision to introduce “Standard Bidding” documents for contractors and consultants who procure goods and services on Government’s behalf, in addition to some changes in the tendering and procurement process, Minister Lall told the officers.

Several consultations were held with Accounting Officers, Permanent Secretaries, Regional Executive Officers (REO), contractors and consultants at the Guyana International Conference Centre on April 2, 14 and 15 to update them on the new initiatives and garner feedback in order to make appropriate adjustments to the procurement and tender process.

Following those sessions, Minister Lall has been visiting with officials from the Regions to ensure that those procedures are in place and that officers are au fait with the new processes.

While speaking to the Department Heads, the Local Government Minister said that these changes were initiated to ensure that Government gets more worth for its dollar and to rid the system of any corruption.

The participants were urged to ensure that contractors complete their work within the specified time so as to avoid variations. Extensions in projects over the years have been causing the Government billions of dollars, Minister Lall highlighted.

As part of the new process, Minister Lall said Government “will not be going for three quotations anymore,” and pointed out that all tender documents should be sealed and put into the tender box.

He advised everyone to become familiar with the new processes and urged that they comply with them. Disciplinary actions will be taken against persons who try to compromise the system, he warned.

The Minister underscored the need for the various Head of Departments to take interest in civil works. This, he said, will help them to manage their works programme more effectively.

For 2009, the Region has a total budgetary allocation of over $917M, of which more than $200M will be expended on capital works. These include construction, extensions and rehabilitation of new and existing infrastructure such as bridges, schools, roads and health facilities throughout the Region.

During his visit, the Minister said he noticed that the Region is quite advanced in preparing the ground work for projects to be undertaken this year.

The importance of having the community involved in the development of the Region was highlighted by the Minister and the officers were urged to act in this regard.

Minister Lall charged the officers to report more effectively on issues in the Region and in particular in their respective sectors. (GINA)