Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Ganesh Mahipaul has written to the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) requesting that an investigation be launched into the award of five multimillion-dollar contracts for the construction of pump stations in Regions Two, Three, Five and Six.

Mahipaul has pointed out that all of the contracts have gone beyond their completion date, with the majority of them with less than 50% completion.

In his letter, MP Mahipaul pointed out that the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) awarded two contracts in 2021 for the construction of pump stations at Cottage on the West Coast of Berbice – Region 5 and Black Bush Polder – Region 6; and in 2022, another three contracts for the construction of pump stations at Charity in Region 2, and A-Line and Canal No. 1 in Region 3.

He said evidence gathered suggests that none of the contracts are near completion.

“All the projects are way passed their completion date and are not even 30% completed. My contention is that the awardees did not satisfy the standard evaluation criteria should not have been awarded the contracts in the first place,” MP Mahipaul told News Source while reading excerpts of his letter.

The Opposition MP said it is clear that the contractors lack the skills and resources needed to execute the projects, and therefore should not have been awarded the contracts. Given the extensive delays, MP Mahipaul said it important for the Tender Board to also determine where it went wrong in the awarding of the contracts.

“I am seeking an investigation into these awards on the basis that the standard evaluation criteria required that bidders demonstrate specific construction experience by providing copies of contracts with previous clients that showed the bidder had completed two (2) contracts of similar nature, size and complexities of a minimum value of 50% of the Bid price within the past 5 years,” he said while reading another section of his letter to the PPC.

He is also calling for an investigation to be launched into the construction of pump stations at Pouderoyen – Region 3 and Jimbo/Grove – Region 4 over concern that there may have been a breach in the awarding process.

Just last week, the Opposition called for an investigation to be launched into the award of an $865 Million contract for the construction of a Pump Station at Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara on the grounds that the company awarded the contract did not meet the requirements set out by Tender Board.

The company that won the bid is linked to social media commentator Mikhail Rodrigues aka “Guyanese Critic”.

In defending the contract award, NPTAB said there was no breach in the award of the contract, adding that the contract award was above board. The Opposition still wants the Procurement Commission to probe the award.

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