Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, has issued a warning to contractors who submit projects of inferior quality stating that they risk the likelihood of being blacklisted by government.
He was speaking at the signing of 10 contracts under the Agricultural Support Services Programme (ASSP) and the Agriculture Export Diversification Programme (AEDP) yesterday.
The Ministry has been exposed to a “mixed bag of contractors” that has produced both good and bad works, the Agriculture Minister said.
He mentioned that Guyanese must be a bit more proactive in ensuring that projects are carried out in the most accountable manner.
Minister Persaud stated that much attention and emphasis will be placed on contractors of poor quality and steps will be taken to have them blacklisted.
However, the blacklisting of contractors will not be limited to those of poor quality, but also those who derail the tender board process, breach procedure, and offer incentives in return for favour.
“Cabinet has discussed those contractors who override procedures and a decision will be made to have such contractors blacklisted,” the Minister said.
He added that the ministry has already detected some instances of irregularity and intends to follow up with appropriate police action.
“I want to reiterate that all contracts are available for monitoring by concerned citizens, once they are willing to photocopy the documents. Our intention is to erase the perception that government agencies are condoning these substandard projects,” Minister Persaud said.
(GINA)