The People's National Congress/REFORM (PNC/R) is urging government to act speedily to implement the recommendations of the conservancy breach probe team instead of "foot-dragging" by launching an assessment of the findings by other experts.

The party expressed the view that the Inter-American Development Bank should also take a stance on the issue since the agency was the principal source of external funding for the contract. A section of the East Demerara Water Conservancy dam, which was being worked on, collapsed in November last year flooding the East Coast village of Cane Grove.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, had previously said that the team's final report was circulated to the relevant government ministries and agencies for their perusal.

He reported on Wednesday that the government agencies and the National Drainage and Irrigation Board (NDIB) were expected to submit a comprehensive report on the team's findings today.

At his weekly press briefing this week, Dr Luncheon stated that it was likely that NDIB, as the client of the contract, would be addressing the technical issues uncovered in the investigation and will have to explain the lack of supervision of the board on the project, among other issues.

He said "the contractor, BK International, will have to explain its various derelictions including the failure to provide information as was requested by the investigating team, non-compliance with the design, method statement, and the code of work."

The delay in definitive action on the investigating team's recommendations was heavily criticised by the PNC/R.

"Dr Luncheon is unashamedly claiming that the government must await the assessments by their other experts before Cabinet can act. This is unadulterated nonsense. The PNC/R does not buy this and the Guyanese public should not either," said Dr Faith Harding, a member of the party's central executive committee. In response to Luncheon's statement on technical issues, Harding pointed out that the terms of reference for the probe team had covered this area. She noted that in the report by the probe team it was stated that the terms of reference required the offering of a "technical assessment of the engineering works" on the conservancy dam.

She told reporters at a press conference hosted by the PNC/R yesterday that there has to be a reasonable time limit to government's official response to the report.

The party had called for a forensic audit to be done on the projects executed by the contractor, BK International Inc.

Dr Harding recalled that President Bharrat Jagdeo had declared at the time of the conservancy breach that the guilty would pay.

"This must now be put to the test. He has, in the past, made bold assertions of intent to deal condignly with wrong-doers only to retreat into inaction...," she charged.

She argued that while government was stalling on the findings, it continued to conduct business with BK with another contract being awarded to the firm recently.

"The Cabinet's prevarication as enunciated by Dr Luncheon in his usual convoluted manner is inexcusable, unacceptable and indefensible. It must be seen as a transparent attempt to buy time...to formulate a face-saving strategy and to hope also that people's memories become clouded and the Cane Grove fiasco fades into the background," she stated.

The terms of reference (TOR) of the investigation stated that the team had to gather and assess all available information concerning the design, construction (inclusive of progress photographs) and supervision of the East Demerara Water Conservancy dam with special reference to the La Bonne Mere site, where the breach took place.

The team had to conduct interviews with relevant personnel for the design, construction, supervision, and monitoring phases of the project, as well as independent specialists where necessary.

The TOR included the commissioning of further surveys and soil investigations on the project site as might have been found necessary.

The team also had to make recommendations on remedial and preventative measures to be taken at the La Bonne Mere breach and other potential areas of concern.

The project to rehabilitate the dam was started in February 28, 2000 and completed on May, 28, 2001.

The breach occurred on November 3, 2001.

President Jagdeo had appointed the investigating team headed by Agricultural Director of Guyana Sugar Corporation, Dr Harold Davis Jr.

Among other aspects, the team found that the contract was not executed in accordance with the general conditions, technical specifications, and bill of quantities.