Non performing contractors will be terminated
…at signing of contracts totalling $490 million
CLOSE to 45 percent of infrastructural projects in the Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) sector are behind schedule and a number of them had to be retendered because of poor performance of the contractors and the termination of contracts as a result.
This is according to Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, who was yesterday speaking to contractors at the signing of a number of contracts totalling $490 million in the drainage and irrigation sector. The signing took place at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Boardroom.
“In fact, we are taking steps to terminate a number of those contracts. I want to issue a word of warning to contractors…that failure to comply within timelines, specifications and others, not only will we be enforcing damages but also we will be moving to terminate contractors who have not been performing, especially in keeping with timelines,” he said.
“If we look at these projects they are all necessary and urgent as [other projects have been previously],” he said.
“There projects form part of our 2011 programme. They have all gone through the public procurement process. These are not projects that were selected or handpicked and given to particular contractors. These are projects that were advertised, went through the procurement process as outlined in our laws and after the necessary valuation and recommendation of award we are here today,” the Minister said.
“If we look at the 11 projects stated here we will all see it is about improving drainage and irrigation across our country and we are doing so in all regions and in all farming areas depending on the availability of resources and being in a position to respond to farmers’ needs and those of other stakeholders,” he said.
“We want stakeholders to have copies of the contract, especially farmers and residents in the particular area where we are doing civil works, so that the public is made aware and be able to help us with monitoring the delivery of these projects,” the agriculture minister said.
“Also, two of the projects here entail the continued building capacity of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) so that we could rely less on contractors and do some more of the work, so as to get greater value for money. It also allows us to have greater flexibility, especially with deploying and re-deploying equipment, especially in times of emergency, [such as] El Nino or La Nina,” he said.
Among the projects for which contracts were awarded are: the expansion of the sluice at Grove Diamond on the East Bank for the amount of $45.3 million, a retendered contract for the embankment and structures at Palmyra Ridge at Bush Lot Wakenaam to the tune of $18.1 million, the supply of geo-textile material for the East Demerara Water Conservancy Northern Relief Channel at Hope Dochfour for the amount of $286 million, and the supply of caterpillar hydraulic excavator and bulldozer spare parts for the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) for the amount of $30.2 million.