The Attorney General has dispatched a memorandum to all Government Ministers urging them to immediately put a unit in place to specifically evaluate the execution of all contracts being undertaken by their Ministries.

The move comes weeks after President Irfaan Ali announced consequences for contractors who are producing substandard works for multi-million-dollar government projects.

Complaints have been mounting about shoddy works, especially road works being undertaken by some contractors.

During his weekly television programme, the Attorney General stated that the Government is now taking a stand against errant contractors who fail to live up to their contractual agreement. 

“Once unjustified delays, substandard works and other such fundamental breaches of contracts are observed, then clauses of the contracts, dealing with notifications of the contractors of the alleged breaches and remedial provisions dealing with sanctions such as liquidated damages, furniture of security and termination etc, should be immediately invoked and activated,” the Attorney General stated.

The Ministry of Public Works has had cause to step in on a number of contractors over delayed road works. In some cases, the works were more than a year past completion time.

The Attorney General said the breachers cannot be allowed to continue. He said in addition to the Evaluation Units being set up in the various Ministries, a Contract Compliance Unit will also be established at the Attorney General chambers to file legal proceedings against defaulting contractors.

“So, there is now a mechanism that is established in all the ministries, and that mechanisms, is dedicatedly monitor and evaluate the performance of contractors who are executing contractor in these respective ministries and once that unit observes unjustifiable delays and fundamental breaches of contractors they are to activate and invoke the clauses that will notify the contractors of the delays and the breach, the clauses imposing sanctions including liquated damages,” the AG stated.

The Attorney General has cautioned contractors to discharge their functions diligently and in line with contractual agreement or face penalties. 

The Government has been accused by the Opposition of dolling out billions of dollars in contracts to inexperienced contractors and to friends and supporters of the governing party.

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