Dear Editor,

ALTHOUGH a commission of inquiry may seem a bit far-fetched by many in an infrastructure sector, if we are serious about improving the quality and sustainability of high-value investment infrastructural projects we are delivering in Guyana, there is need for a holistic investigation into the development, design, management, and construction of these projects.

Additionally, this sector attracts the highest volume of public sector investments in the country, and too many mistakes are being made; too many investments are being wasted, and no one is being held accountable for those mistakes.

There is no evidence of individuals or companies, or even the implementing agencies, learning from those mistakes, as the mistakes in the delivery of these projects seems to be repetitive. The performance in the sector is so predictable that the poor performance of most of the projects is expected before the proverbial “spade is turned” on these projects.

Designs are poor, critical details are omitted, deadlines are continually being missed, costs are being overrun, supervisory consultants approve substandard work, projects deteriorate well within design lifespans, and no noticeable action is being taken. Is it that we are happy with the current performance? The design, management and construction of, for example, the Kato Primary; Hope Canal Bridge; ECD, EBD and WCD highway Extensions; Linden water treatment plants; Amaila Falls access road (just to name a few of the popular ones) can all be considered project management failures. It is, then, no surprise that many of the international funding agencies have expressed little confidence in our ability to deliver successful projects.

What baffles me the most, however, is that we have been using the same designs, technology, approaches, contractors and consultants for these projects, yet we cannot seem to get it right after this many years; hence the recommendation of a commission of inquiry: we need to know why.

This status quo must change. We cannot continue along this path if we are going to achieve the developmental ambitions that have evaded us over the last 50 years.

Maybe it’s the attitude of personnel involved in the sector, where the effects of ‘Path Dependency’ have rendered them confined to a system of mediocrity and failure. I know it’s not for the lack of technical expertise, as I know some of the best and brightest persons in the country are within many of the organisations and were part of some of these failed projects.

There have been concerns of political interference in all the stages of major infrastructural project delivery in Guyana, which affects critical decision-making that impacts on the success of the project. Can this be the problem? As seen, the source(s) of the problem, and there is a problem, can be many. I know there would be arguments that would suggest that the major projects listed above were all conceived and administered under the previous administration, and the approach of this new administration would produce significantly better results. I am not so sure; the Durban Park Stadium fiasco was a clear enough sign for me. And do we want to wait until we have another string of failed projects to admit something is definitely wrong in the sector?

We have leaders in the sector such as the good Ministers of Public Infrastructure, who seem willing and have publically stated their commitment to delivering successful projects. This can be an opportunity for them to demonstrate this through a distinctive, decisive, targeted action.

The sector desperately needs a catalyst to transform it from the current state, where there seems to be serial failure of projects, to one where we can successfully deliver projects to meet the needs of the stakeholders.

It is time we, the citizens on Guyana, receive value for money for the public sector investments, as many of the loans used for these projects would be repaid by us and our children, and even our children’s children; who may not have even benefited from the investment, as many of the facilities would have deteriorated by then.

We cannot move forward without knowing what’s wrong. A commission of inquiry, which seems to be a favoured approach of the current administration, can be effectively utilised to investigate this plague of poor performance that is affecting the infrastructure sector in Guyana.

DARREN D. SHAKO
A concerned citizen and practitioner