Dear Editor,
Recently, there was a cabinet approval to sole source for the supply of two pumps that will be used to replace pumps at Ankerville, Port Mourant. Dr. Jagan will turn in his grave when he learns of this one scandal.
The two-pumps were already acquired by Ministry of Agriculture destined for A Line Canal, West Bank. The contract for the acquisition of A Line Canal pumps and the contract to build the pump station was awarded to a company with no experience; it never built pump stations. And as expected, the contractor was unable to execute job.
This contractor, it is learnt, was and is a front for the son of a high official from the ministry; that person was sanctioned by the US government and his visa revoked. The contractor, who has been a recipient of hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts, purchased the two pumps from an unapproved supplier (out of China) and engineers deemed them unsuitable for the ongoing pump stations being built around the country. The pumps are unsuitable.
The company received substantial payment which would have to be repaid to NDIA as it is its fault. Rather than seek repayment, NDIA has sought to waive penalties and to pass the pumps onto GuySuCo for its pump stations. The ministry is seeking how to compensate rather than lay punitive damages on that contractor.
The Ministry has embarked on a procedure to facilitate payment in excess of $95 millions for these two pumps whereby a cabinet no objection was obtained by Ministry of Agriculture for payments to be made to another company, Permal Trading, to use the pumps for a different pump station located at Ankerville, Port Mourant. The pumps are unsuitable there also. And the A Line contractor will not be punished. Double payments is made for the same two pumps – two different companies.
The Ministry of Agriculture presented to the tender board a request to justify the sole sourcing of these pumps for Permal Trading, which described as a reputable pump supplier. However, Permal is not known to have been involved in the supply of pumps in Guyana or in the construction of pump stations. It never supplied pumps before, yet is described as a reputable supplier of pumps.
Permal is known as a trader of coconut oil and groceries in Albion and the Corentyne. He obtained contracts to build roads and other infrastructure projects for which there was also no major prior experience. Questions have been made about the company’s bids. Are they inflated?
GuySuCo engineers have determined that the said two pumps are totally unsuitable for the Ankerville Pump stations for which the award was approved for $95 M. This a clear case of ministry facilitating payments for substandard and unsuitable equipment with the full knowledge the two pumps also can’t be used at Ankerville.
Will the VP intervene to put a stop on wanton waste of resources?
Yours truly,
Nigel Pilgrim
