One of the criticisms of the Coalition Government is that it did nothing for Black people. It was a legitimate complaint when one considers how the present government operates. I have heard complaints from people who visited certain Ministers within the coalition government and many got nowhere. These people now have a right to be angry when they look around them today. The talk is that the PPP government is doing everything for its people.
There has been the distribution of grants across the country. People say that the grant distributions have been more consistent in the strongholds of the PPP. Money was shared out as Guyanese would say, ‘wild west’. These distributions were never announced. People who live in the opposition strongholds were largely ignored. Farmers were given grants to acquire fertilisers. Supporters of the opposition, themselves farmers, would complain that many were bypassed.
Some were told that the grants distribution had ended and that they would be catered for in the next round. But it was not only money. During the debate on Budget 2024, many Members of Parliament spoke about the expenditure on programmes in the various communities. They were at pains to point out that in the PPP strongholds there was a preponderance of roads done. The same could not have been said in the other areas. This has led to the claims of discrimination in the country. It is also the case with employment practices.
Government supporters always get the bulk of the scholarships. It is as if some people deliberately sit and count to ensure that supporters of the government benefit ahead of anyone else. Of course the government has been denying any allegations of discrimination. President Irfaan Ali at every opportunity he gets, would announce that he is ruling for all the people of Guyana. He becomes angry when challenged, so he is at pains to avoid such comments during press conferences.
But most people would regale a listener with what they, the accusers, would call facts. These days there are contracts being awarded for just about every kind of infrastructure under the sun. Most are roads and bridges. There are a few for trench cleaning.
A few buildings are being constructed in various parts of the country. These are mainly schools, some replacing structures that went up in flames. There are also multi-storied complexes. It has not escaped notice that most of the schools went up in flames during the tenure of the PPP. Not so long ago, two school dormitories and three secondary schools went up in flames. Not to be left behind were a police station and a section of the Criminal Investigations Department. These have or had to be rebuilt. Tenders went out for most of these constructions. The Mahdia school dormitory is still awaiting construction because there is perhaps a paucity of contractors to undertake the project.
What is surprising is that there seems to be no Black contractors these days. They may exist in name, but they will not qualify because they do not have the equipment. The issue of experience may be another limitation. Ever since 1992, more than thirty years ago, many were sidelined. The younger ones therefore could not have claimed to have had experience. The new batch of contractors is in the right place at the right time.
Many of the requirements were ignored. In some cases, the absence of equipment or experience was not enough to prevent one from gaining a contract. One merely had to be a friend or a supporter of the government.
Former Minister David Patterson questioned the granting of an almost billion-dollar contract to Tepui, a company owned by a commentator Guyanese Critic. It is now being broadcast that this company only had two plastic chairs. The Public Procurement Commission, set up to investigate irregularities in the award of contracts decided that since the contract was awarded before it was sworn in, it could do nothing. It was the same for some other contracts. There were cases of blacklisted contractors being granted contracts by the government. And it was not that the government was not aware that these people were blacklisted.
Such was the case of the award of the contract for the reconstruction of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School. Minister Priya Manickchand said the Ministry of Education does not play any role in picking the contractors for the schools. True. But she said that she would be harsh on them for failing to complete the projects on time. At the same time, she knew that the contractor was one of those blacklisted. When asked, she stuttered and muttered about not being responsible for the contract award.
And this was not the only case of blacklisted contractors being awarded contracts. There were two in Region Nine under Manickchand’s watch. The North Multilateral School being rebuilt by the same blacklisted contractor, is behind schedule. Are there penalties? The school at Bamia is more than a year behind schedule. In fact, it has stalled. Certainly, this contract, like the one awarded to Critic’s Tepui Group, could not have passed any query by the Public Procurement Commission.
These contracts should not have been awarded. Some did not satisfy the experience criterion, nor did they have the equipment. Now both Tepui and Statement are going to preside over stalled contracts. The contractors have collected a lot of money. Now they can sit happy. There will be no sanctions. None has been rescinded. There are many cases of such questionable contract awards. The government seems not to care. That is why the people say that the PPP is dealing with family, friends and favourites.
It was Juan Edghill who told a community that if you want development join the PPP. Perhaps there are others who tell contractors that if they want work, join the PPP. It would have been nice to see the fate of Aubrey Norton if he had had a construction company.
