MINISTER of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persaud yesterday reiterated Government’s zero-tolerance position with regards to overpayments on contracts and substandard work.

He was at the time speaking at the Regional Engineer Department and Works Committee Workshop at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal.
The aim of the workshop was to ensure more synergy between the Regional Engineers Department and the Works Committee so as to ensure that taxpayers get value for money.
Minister Persaud said that for far too long the “blame game” has been played between these two bodies. He lamented the fact that year after year, the Auditor General (AG) finds evidence of overpayment in all of the 10 Administrative Regions. Overpayment in this regard, does not mean that the Regional Executive Officer (REO) approved payments in excess of the contracted sum; but rather, it means that what was paid for was not completely executed.
Minister Persaud disclosed that he is currently compiling information that he has received on incidences of extortion at the Works Department in Region 10. He noted that this information will soon be handed over to the police for the necessary actions.
He told both elected, as well as appointed officials from the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) that if they find that the salary they are receiving is too small, they should look for other alternatives instead of resorting to extortion.
“Don’t attempt to fleece the contractors; when you try to extort from contractors, it is the quality of work that suffers, and it is the taxpayers’ dollars that is poorly spent,” the minister reminded.
With regards to complaints of substandard work, Minister Persaud explained that representatives from the political parties form the Works Committee. They are the ones who are responsible for signing the final certificate that the work is satisfactorily done and in so doing, recommend the final payment, which is then approved by the REO.
“It seems that this fact is lost on the political leaders of this country and so we seek to beat up on the appointed officials and as elected officials, we position ourselves as though we had no relationship with regards to these payments,” the minister said.
Turning his attention to the appointed officials, he made reference to a series of misdemeanors which have been occurring at the Works Department level.
These include: drafting of bill of quantities without finalising designs, constructing buildings without making any provision for the installation of doors and windows, and using of bill of quantities that are not reflective of the scope of work.
The minister also reprimanded REOs for not bringing sanctions to bear on errant regional engineers, overseers and superintendents.
Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Norman Whittaker said that this event must be seen as a representation of an investment in human capital.
He said that every year, government invests millions of dollars across the 10 Administrative Regions to train, retool and regroup departments and personnel in an effort to improve the level of services that citizens, as taxpayers, are entitled to.
“This workshop, no doubt, gives recognition to the fact that life is not static, we undergo changes. The people’s needs today and the people’s needs tomorrow will change…the higher the demand will be for better quality of service and we have to ensure that we deliver to the satisfaction of the people,” Minister Whittaker said.
Participants of the workshop will also benefit from a session with representatives from the Auditor General’s office to specifically address the issue of overpayment, as well as discussions on the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act with emphasis on budget preparation.