THE issue of substandard work by contractors has been with us a long time

and no permanent solution has been found. Therefore, it needs to be examined closely with a view to block the gaps within the system which are being exploited by corrupt officials and contractors.
Substandard work is most evident in the construction of roads and bridges as very often after a new road or bridge has been built it has to be repaired shortly afterwards, which means more money has to be spent that could have been used to repair/build infrastructure elsewhere.
Some people are of the view that, in many instances, officials actually encourage this trend because they are able to siphon off more perks from contractors who gleefully respond so as to be in their good books. But it is the taxpayers that are being ripped off in these corrupt transactions.
The Works Committees and the Engineers Department in the respective administrative regions are responsible for ensuring that infrastructure is built to the highest standard in accordance with engineering specifications.
Unfortunately, in many instances, there are reports that the Works Committees and engineers are in collusion with the contractors and issue certificates of satisfactory work when in actuality this is far from the case. But it is an open secret that the officials involved receive money from the contractors under the table. And this has to be stopped because it is the collusion between contractors/officials that is the crux of corruption and substandard work. How to stamp this out is the big question.
For some time now there has been talk about giving residents copies of bills of quantities whenever work is being done by contractors in their respective communities so that they could also oversee the work. However, it would appear that this is not being done. And if it is being done, then this is only on a limited basis because many times residents are not even aware that work will be done in their community or who is the contractor. It is only after work has started they become aware and, without the bills of quantities, on what basis can they challenge or question the quality of work being executed.
Nevertheless, it is encouraging to note that the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development has acknowledged and accepted that substandard work is being executed in the various administrative regions and, more importantly, has begun to take steps to address it.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persaud, at a recent Engineers Department workshop, reiterated government’s zero-tolerance to over payments on contracts and execution of substandard work. While this is reassuring from the minister, tangible steps need to be taken to ensure that this becomes a reality.
Persaud said that for far too long the “blame game” has been played between these two bodies.
He lamented the fact that year after year, the Auditor General finds evidence of overpayment in all of the 10 Administrative Regions. Overpayment in this regard, does not mean that the Regional Executive Officer (REO) approved payments in excess of the contracted sum; but rather, it means that what was paid for was not completely executed.
Minister Persaud disclosed that he is currently compiling information that he has received on incidents of extortion at the Works Department in Region 10. He noted that this information will soon be handed over to the police for the necessary actions.
Indeed, this is the way to go because for too long the culprits have been able to elude the law and this is so because those who have been entrenched in the system are aware of its loopholes and are taking full advantage of this. Therefore, there is a need to re-examine the system to identify the loopholes and weaknesses and to institute and implement checks and balances to address them.