–President Ali warns contractors that there will be severe penalties for non-performance, breaches

THERE will be no wiggle room for delinquent contractors, as President Dr. Irfaan Ali has made it clear that heavy penalties such as the blacklisting of companies will be applied.

Blacklisting, owing to contractual breaches and non-performance, could even result in the loss of one’s company, President Ali said on Saturday, when he met with officials from the Ministry of Education, contractors, engineers, Regional Executive Officers (REOs), and project consultants.

“I want to make it very clear, these projects must be managed independently in a project file, and we are going to hold the REOs and engineers accountable on all these projects,” the President firmly said.
He went on to say: “From Day One, once there are breaches and the contractors are not fulfilling their responsibilities, I need letters to be written, and letters to be placed in the file. At the end of the contractual period, or before, if there’s cause for termination, the file must be closed, and a copy of the file must be sent to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, so that they will know that these contractors are not performing.”

He warned the contractors that no excuses will be tolerated, and stressed the importance of managing sites properly.
“There will be penalties for contractors, and it can cost you your company, too, because if you don’t perform, then you can get blacklisted. Then you will not get new projects,” the Head of State said while emphasising the importance of the infrastructure sector.
While receiving an update on several ongoing projects, the President was informed that the Christ Church Secondary School is on track to be completed on November 15 of this year.

The government has been battling insubordinate contractors for quite some time, however, with the massive number of national infrastructural works ongoing, and the administration’s plans to reel out another cycle of projects, delays cannot and will not be tolerated.
As such, Dr. Ali had previously highlighted that efforts will be made to ensure accountability in the execution of contracts, such as penalties for breaches.

“I had a report from project managers across all national projects; letters have been sent out to contractors on liquidated damages to the value of about $3 billion. Those are projects that are going beyond their timeline,” President Ali had told reporters at a previous press conference.

He emphasised that institutions and agencies have been instructed to ensure that the liquidated damages for contractual breaches are applied.
“So, once there is no justifiable reason for an extension of project time, liquidated damages must be charged,” he firmly stated.

CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
Also, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, S.C., unveiled a series of measures aimed at ensuring the timely execution of contracts, and reinforcing the government’s commitment to upholding contractual obligations.

First, highlighting the government’s stance on contract breaches and delays, Nandlall said: “All of this is part of the government’s no tolerance for breach of contracts and delay in the execution of contractual obligations.”

One of the key measures announced by Nandlall is the resuscitation and functionalisation of units within various ministries, tasked with evaluating contractual performance and activating relevant contract clauses.

These units will be responsible for assessing delays, breaches, and other contractual issues, and imposing sanctions on delinquent contractors, including liquidated damages, forfeiture of bonds, and termination of contracts.

Addressing criticisms in some quarters regarding increased bureaucratic layers and taxpayer burden, Nandlall clarified that these measures will not incur additional costs for the government or taxpayers.

“The intent is not to create another unit or another layer of bureaucracy,” he said, adding that existing staff within the Attorney-General’s Chambers will man the new unit, thereby eliminating the need for hiring new personnel.

Nandlall further underlined the legality and transparency of the government’s actions, stating, “Under the law, under the Procurement Act, it also provides for further sanctions. For example, blacklisting of contractors once the proper process is followed.”

Stressing the State’s commitment to upholding promises made to the public regarding project delivery timelines, Minister Nandlall declared: “Government will not countenance negligence from contractors. The government will not countenance delinquency; the government will not countenance breaches of contractual obligations. These contracts are multimillion-dollar in nature.

“So, it’s not a question of contractors not making money; there are cases where a delay may be justified, or a breach may be justified.”

Addressing contractors directly, Nandlall warned, “You cannot breach your contracts with impunity.”