Lall concerned about perception of corruption in local govt contracts
Stabroek News
January 15, 2007
The perception of rampant corruption in the execution of local government contracts was highlighted as a major cause for concern on the first day of a two-day seminar for regional officials responsible for carrying out such projects.
Minister of Local Govern-ment and Regional Develop-ment Kellawan Lall made the statement as he delivered his remarks during the opening session of the two-day training programme hosted at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre at Red House, Main Street.
Sessions for the training programme began on Thursday and were geared towards engineers, senior superintendents of works, superintendents of works and building overseers of the regional administrations.
According to the programme, some of the areas to be addressed were preparation of contract documents, variation of contracts, bills of quantities, project supervision, maintenance and design of public facilities, and audit policies for government construction projects.
Lall told the regional officials at the opening of the seminar: "We need to start anew in the ministry because we just had an election and the winning party put forward the notion how they expect things to be done over the next five years."
President Bharrat Jagdeo, he reminded the regional officers, had announced that at the minimum the Ministry of Local Government would be given a significant sum of money over the next five years. This money would be spent on doing developmental works, so consequently things need to be improved from simply doing the routine to ensuring that beneficiaries get their money's worth.
"The manner in which we do our work is very important. A lot of you know the stigma of corruption at the local level has been very rife in various areas." He noted, however, that "sometimes these impressions are not true. Be that as it may we need to correct the image of ourselves out there."
The image must be corrected, said the minister, so that people can feel that what is being done is in their interest. "I do not have records of corruption but things are not done properly hence the image," Lall pointed out.
For instance, the minister said, people see two trucks supplying sand and one leaves to go elsewhere, and in other instances people see stone going to villages and being sold by local officials. Then when the project, for example a road, is actually done in a short space of time persons can lift the asphalt off the finished surface. Such incidents, Lall contended, lead citizens to believe that people working with the system had siphoned off project funds for their own purposes.
Further, he stated, when people see a contractor who had done a bad road, for example, getting more projects without any penalties for the last bit of work, the perception of corruption is further promoted.
"We can eradicate this by doing simple things," the minister suggested. First, he reminded the gathering, the people in the works committees have an important role to play. "Contracts are done to benefit the community and we want the people to have a better quality of life, so they can come on board and move the country out of poverty," Lall said.
Tender Board practices
Personnel, he said, have to ensure they are familiar with the tender and procurement process so as to do their work more efficiently. "You must be acquainted with the Tender Board Act in its amended form since it contains subtle differences," he said. He emphasized that to his consternation some of the Tender Board practices em-ployed in Guyana are not done in any other part of the world, "like paying a man 100% before a contract has started."
With respect to final payment, Lall declared, it must always be ensured that the design specifications have been met by the contractor before payment. "Once you stick by the rules I will stick by you."
Lall emphasized that officials who are involved in malpractices would have to go. He added that where matters of corruption arise in the regions, officials there should send a recommendation outlining what should be done.
Blacklisting
He suggested further that in efforts to erase the image of corrupt practices, contractors who do not do work properly should be blacklisted or debarred.
He went on to say that bad work is sometimes a result of regional officials resting on their laurels and, "not being on the ball."
Using another illustration, the minister said if people see the head of the works department drinking with a contractor they are likely to think negatively about such an official. "Sometimes nothing untoward is going on but it is the impression."
Lall also referred to design issues and noted that in many instances bad design was the reason why there was a whole range of deviations.
He also pointed out that officials should not mix up variations in contracts and additional work because the two are different. He informed that additional work should not be done by local officials without first obtaining the necessary permission.
Monitoring and evaluation was another area the minister said should be addressed, stating that he did not know whether a culture of going out to check works existed but suggested that REOs and other regional officials must make it their duty to see that things are done properly.
Bills of quantities must be made accessible to the public, Lall said, noting that it was not personal business so there should be nothing to hide.
For instance, he said, a road may require $25M to be built to a certain standard but if only $6M is available at the time and the project is one of priority the people should be aware so they would not be falsely expecting a road of a certain quality.
Security for contracts
The minister also highlighted the importance of local bodies ensuring that they receive security for awarded contracts. "Contrac-tors get jobs without providing security so you cannot penalize the man. He is not doing the job but cannot be penalized because there is no security," Lall observed.
The Regional Minister touched on the issue of prequalification, indicating that when awarding contracts local government representatives must know the contractors, the principals of the contracting companies, and where they live, among other things. He made reference to instances where officials claim to be ignorant about who the directors of companies are, possibly fearing that it may reveal family connections.
Along with the minister, other senior ministerial personnel at the opening session were Ganga Persaud, Per-manent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Govern-ment and Regional Develop-ment, Seewchan, Chief Regional Development Offi-cer and Aretha Henry, Princi-pal Regional Develop-ment Officer (ag). (Christopher Yaw)