Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) Director Mr. Tarchand Balgobin yesterday said some contractors are their own enemies as often they bid for work beyond their competence.

GWI Director Tarchand Balgobin addresses the workshop

Balgobin made the observation at the opening of a three-day seminar on contractor’s awareness at the GWI Vlissengen Road office.

The top GWI official, expressing disappointment at the unsatisfactory attendance of contractors at the forum, pointed out that often GWI comes in for harsh criticism for their negligent behaviour and substandard work.

He told the gathering of no more than twenty contractors that they should carefully assess their competence, financial, ethical and other responsibilities, before making a bid.

Balgobin underlined contracts are serious business and all contractors must have clearly established guidelines before the execution of a project and here is where their technical competence is required most.

He warned that contractors who fail to comply with rigid project implementation guidelines will face liquidation damages and no one, big or small, will be exempted.

The GWI Director pointed out that default time accounts for about half or one per cent of the value for the contracting service on a weekly basis.

He cited faulty financial flows, poor scheduling, lack of human resources and technical skills, all on the part of contractors, as the main reasons for their failure in starting and completing projects on time.

Balgobin also urged contractors to carefully read their contracts and make their queries to GWI before commencement of work, so as to avoid difficulties in the field.

He disclosed too that GWI will apply penalty to contractors who fail to meet project benchmarks and explained that this system is different from liquidation damages.

Unlike liquidation damages, the Director said, the penalty which entails withholding of payments for not completing an assignment on time can be recovered with a make-up for the time lost.

These measures, he explained, are being implemented to stop sloppy work from contractors, ensuring that people receive the desired benefit and government gets value for taxpayers’ money.

The quality of work delivered by contractors, Balgobin emphasised, must be of reputable standards and GWI is considering the removal of defaulting contractors from its fraternity.

He lamented that 60 per cent of water the utility produces is wasted as a result of leaking and seeping pipelines and underground connections, people leaving their taps on, as well as those stealing water.

Contractors, the Director contended, have to up the ante if this situation is going to change.

President Bharrat Jagdeo, at a contractor’s forum at the Guyana International Conference Centre in April, said the capabilities of contractors will be rigorously tested and the government will start with pre-qualification.

He announced that lists will be compiled of those contractors who are in good standing, and of those who have not lived up to their contracts; and those falling in the latter category will find it difficult getting future contracts.

Penalties will be implemented, including liquidating damages across the board, he announced, adding that the government expects contractors to improve their capabilities.

Mr. Jagdeo acknowledged that the government is at fault at times, and said the Finance Ministry should consistently speak with contractors to keep them in line.

Acting Central Implementation and Planning Department Director, Mr. Altaf Gafoor, said the workshop aims to bring contractors up to speed with GWI technical operations.

He pointed out the occasion seeks too to build partnership with the private sector and to edify participants of GWI guidelines and standards, expand the capacity of existing knowledge, and inculcate in contractors the importance of meeting deadlines on time.

GWI Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yuri Chandisingh, said the exercise fits into the utility’s objective to make contractors part of its structural rehabilitation and other work programmes.

He said the entity has made significant progress over the past decade and will continue to serve the people to the best of its ability.

Chandisingh also noted that people’s expectations are always on the rise and encouraged contractors to give of their best, as GWI strives to keep its operations in top shape and to expand services to satisfy their needs.