President Irfaan Ali has again put contractors in the country on notice that failure to effectively and efficiently execute infrastructural projects, such as roads and bridges on time, will not be tolerated, and could result in their temporary blacklisting.

In an address to residents during an outreach in New Amsterdam, Berbice on Thursday, President Ali said his Administration intends to hold everyone accountable, and would be keenly tracking projects to ensure compliance.

“We are taking an approach to government in which we want people to be held accountable. We want performance indicators not only to be there on paper but to be there to measure the performance of those who are paid to provide public service. And, if they cannot performance the service they are paid to do, then they will have to be removed from such service. There is no shortcut,” the President said.

Citing an example, President Ali said the construction of bridges along the main access road in Region Six, has been delayed due to the “slothfulness of the contractors” and the engineer supervising the project.

Clearly dissatisfied, the President said that he was “astonished” that liquidated damages have not yet been applied although there is a clear lack of interest in completing the bridges. He has therefore instructed that no further projects be awarded to the defaulting contractors.

“I have instructed the permanent secretary and the procurement head to take all the necessary action that would ensure that these contractors are not awarded no projects until these bridges are completed. And if it is the project engineer are delinquent in the management of this project from an administrative protective, that is, ensuring that all the administrative requirements are in place, allowing the Government to take action and if they are not in place, the Finance Secretary is aware of the powers invested in a system for action to be taken, and action will be taken,” the President said.

He said there should be no excuse, adding that if the Government pays for services, those services must be efficiently executed and delivered on time.

The Auditor General in his 2024 Report said capital projects alone in 2024 amounted to more than $646 Billion. However, the “outrun” was affected by delays in project implementations.

It was explained that locally financed public investment programme driven by strong policy interventions continues to show robust performance when compared to the portfolio of projects and programmes supported by multilateral and bilateral development partners.

In this regard, President Ali said his Government will be using technology to aid in the monitoring of projects.

“There is no shortcut to this that is why we want to build a future that is driven on a technological backbone. So, that we can track issues, so that we can hold people accountable, so that we can improve efficiency, and so that we can enhance transparency,” he said.

The Government’s outreach to New Amsterdam is part of the Irfaan Ali Administration’s mission to meet people where they are, in the communities and villages.

He said Cabinet has been informed that every month, the Government would be operating out of an administrative region, to conduct outreaches, and to provide citizens with an integrated platform to resolve issues confronting them.

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