– warns he will not tolerate any slacking on the job nor shoddy work

THE Ministry of Public Works (MoPW) intends to take a zero tolerance approach to the practice among contractors to drag their feet so as to stretch out the job past the deadline, after they would have secured the contract.

The foregoing warning was issued on Wednesday by Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, during a meeting with road contractors at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal, on the lower East CoasT Demerara, which event also saw in attendance Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Mr. Deodat Indar, as well as MoPH technical officers.
During the engagement, Minister Edghill outlined to the contractors what is expected of them, going forward, and urged that they ensure the services they offer are efficient and effective, as they, too, are partners in Guyana’s development. He also urged that they be ever mindful of the promises they make, and strive to make it their main priority as opposed to “looking to make a quick dollar”.

“I want a new culture; whether it is a little village street, a major highway or an interior road, the quality of our work must be admired, and when examined, must pass the test not just at the lab, but the test of appreciation of the people for whom you are providing that service,” Minister Edghill said.

He also reminded contractors of the government’s position where quality work and value for money are concerned, and warned that not just they, but project engineers as well will face the consequences for substandard work, as the Ministry will be paying close attention to quality control.

“Collusion between contractors and project engineers and project managers will not be tolerated,” Minister Edghill warned.
On a more positive note, he announced that the MoPW will also be moving towards the timely resolution of disputes so that projects could advance, warning that any obstruction to achieving this outcome will be dealt with swiftly.

“You can’t have development being put on hold because of some problem with design, or engineer and contractor can’t agree on the way forward,” Minister Edghill said.
Noting that the development of the country is of top priority to the government, and, as such, all resources will be made available so as to ensure that the process moves forward in a timely and efficient manner, he said, “Every complaint will be looked at with the level of seriousness it requires, and if there is culpability, the necessary action will be taken.”

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Minister Edghill further disclosed that one of the main strategies his ministry will be employing to deal with delayed works will be to inform other ministries of any outstanding jobs a contractor may have for them, as many of them are in the habit of stalling work in one area, so as to complete another job at another ministry.
Minister Edghill also voiced his concern that projects which had been signed off on since the last day of 2019 under that year’s budget have, to date, not yet been started.
“A contract is not a loan for you to finance other business; a contract and the monies paid in a contract are to get the job done,” he said, even as he emphasised the need for the timely implementation of projects.

Just recently Minister Edghill was forced to issue an ultimatum to several contractors working on rehabilitating four streets in the East Bank Demerara (EBD) community of Diamond. The ultimatum, in the form of a seven-day deadline, came after Minister Edghill realised that the contractors had been on the job since last year when they were awarded the contract by the past administration.

Upon seeing for himself what obtained, Minister Edghill decreed that if the contractors cannot get the job done, the contract would have to be terminated with immediate effect, and just let staff of the Ministry’s Force Account Unit do it instead.

“The people can’t be suffering all the time; they need proper roads and infrastructure, and with my team on the ground, they will get the job done,” Minister Edghill said.