-Region 2 REO sees sabotage in delay of project

By Alexis Rodney

REGIONAL Executive Officer (REO) of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Rupert Hopkinson, has moved to defend himself against allegations being peddled by the political players of the regional body, who he said are bent on portraying a negative image of the performance of the region.

Hopkinson said the officials are collectively working around a well-thought out plan to make it appear as if there is no progress, all for political mileage.

On Wednesday, Region Two Chairman, Devanand Ramdatt, speaking to the Guyana Times Newspaper said that the region has been failing in its performance, particularly with the awarding of contracts, which effectively causes a delay in the completion of projects. According to the report, Ramdatt said that based on information he has received only 30 percent of the capital project in the region has been completed, adding that he was dissatisfied with the REO’s failure to implement decisions made at the level of the council.

But Hopkinson told the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday that had the Chairman been in a working relationship with him, he would have been made privy to the many contracts that were signed, but were never recorded.

Hopkinson showed copies of several vouchers which were signed months before and for which works were completed but are not recorded. He showed a $ 27.7 million contract signed between the Regional Administration and a company – Technocon Investment, for the construction of a maternity waiting home at the Suddie Hospital. That contract he showed was signed in November 2016. Works also began that very month and were completed in March this year. A claim for the final payment for works done on that project, the REO showed was signed off by the Regional Vice-Chairman on Monday, September 4, 2017.

“It meant that for all those months, nothing went into the books and even now, nothing is in the books”. He said the document shows as well that part of the $27million should have been paid during this year since the vouchers were signed. “So this cannot be entered into the system and as far as the Ministry of Finance is concerned this money was not spent”, he said.

He continued “It is deliberate. It is statistically impossible to award all these projects and show only 30 percent of works completed.”

Hopkinson lamented the numerous times he had written to the relevant authorities to correct their actions, all to no avail. He said he has been writing letters to the Regional Administration, bringing to its attention the delay in the release of funds to pay contractors and the slow processing of vouchers, taking weeks and months to reach his desk.

“I complained to the Permanent Secretary, who then called the chairperson to release some vouchers. That was $17 million. When you do not sign vouchers, your spending cannot be recorded by the Ministry of Finance and therefore, it shows that you have spent less money than you have been actually spending.” He highlighted in his letter that the practice has not only delayed the execution of projects, but has had crippling effects on some new contractors, since they depend on prompt payments as the only means of financing the further execution of projects.

“How can you explain why when you’re given three days to show contractors their worksite that you have taken more than a month and you have not shown them their work?” He said when contractors are shown their work late, implementation of the project is delayed and when implementation is delayed it takes a longer time for it to be executed, which in effect places a pressure on the contractors and his workers. Hopkinson said the situation is nothing more than a political ploy by “lingering and rollover loyalties” that have been in the system for a very long time. “This is something that has been going on since the government took office”, he said.

“They simply hide vouchers; they don’t want the system to move. The opposition forces that control some of the decision-makers in the region, including the chief accountant and engineers are unleashing a careful wicked plan to hold back; to give the false impression that money is not being spent and that the region and by extention the REO is underperforming,” Hopkinson said.