THE Ministry of Public Works yesterday clarified what it said are “some misconstrued information” that has been circling in the public domain as it relates to the contract inked between the ministry and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).
The ministry, in a statement, highlighted the “misconstrued information” as it relates to:

1. Naming a Government Engineer for the project;
2. The construction of Section 1.13 of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) document in reference to its terms and conditions;
3. And performance security being 10 percent of contract sum.
The ministry pointed out that, firstly, while an engineer is not named in the contract, those arrangements have been taken care of administratively; and an engineer has been identified and appointed.
In addition to that, Section 1.13 [Compliance with Laws] sub-clause (b) states: “The Contractor shall give all notices, pay all taxes, duties and fees, and obtain all permits, licences and approval, as required by the Laws in relation to the design, execution and completion of the Works and the remedying of any defects; and the Contractor shall indemnify and hold the Employer harmless against and from the consequences of any failure to do so.”
“Since the Government of Guyana will pay all taxes, duties and fees, and obtain all permits, licences and approval regarding the design, execution and completion, and remedying any defects during the defects liability period. Hence the reason for interchanging names(Contractor and Employer) in the above clause as stated in the signed contract,” the ministry stated.
This section provides, in the view of the Public Works Ministry, a CORRECT interpretation which clearly illustrates that Government is not responsible for incuring any defects.
Additionally, Section 11 of the FIDIC document explicitly deals with Defects Liability, whereby it is very clear that CHEC and not the Government is responsible for remedying defects during the Defects and Liability period.
Furthermore, it is a norm in large contracts for the performance bond to be 10% of the contract sum.
The ministry said it is “deeply concerned that misinterpretation of the facts misleads the public, and strongly encourages the public to become their own investigative journalists to determine for themselves what is fact from fiction”.