Contractors can be banned based on past inferior works

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan’s frustration over the sloppy works of contractors may soon be coming to an end with plans in the pipeline to ban firms from bidding for projects on the basis of their previous performances.

Jordan announced during the 2018 Budget Presentation on Monday that the government will be moving to strengthen its procurement systems through several new initiatives.

“We will be establishing a process for debarment, where the past performance of bidders will be appraised as part of the selection process,” he disclosed to rounds of applause from the government parliamentarians.

The Finance Minister also revealed that government will be establishing a contractor’s register to support this particular initiative.  Additionally, he said a register of all procurement evaluators will be established to ensure that turnaround times and procedures are monitored and enforced.

To complement these initiatives, Jordan said the government will also focus on updating the procurement legislation.

“(Government) will begin the groundwork leading to the eventual implementation of an e-Procurement platform. This platform will allow for a more efficient and effective procurement system that has a greater capacity,” he explained.

Minister Jordan has repeatedly voiced his concerns over the spate of sloppy works being done by local contractors.

At a press conference in October 2017, Jordan made reference to the East Bank Demerara (EBD) road expansion project and the Kato Secondary School as two prime examples of shoddy works done by local firms.

“You see it all over the place, you build a road now and you have to go fix it back in six months. You build a school now and you have to go fix it back. You spend a $1B plus on Kato [School] and now you have to go spend another half a billion it,” he had vented.

“I’ve never seen a road where you looking for which part of the road to drive because your car wobbling all over the place … the road just built and it’s already sinking and water accumulating,” the Finance Minister had expressed.