A total of 389 contracts for small contractors in Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) were inked on Tuesday. Altogether, these contracts are worth about $6.9 billion.
The contracts were inked as Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo visited the region on Tuesday. The contracts are for various road upgrades.
Importantly, the Vice President told residents that a new rating system has been developed to allow more persons- especially smaller contractors- to secure work contracts needed. This system will allow small contractors to get deals without getting involved in the standard bidding process.
Meanwhile, an additional $7 billion in contracts will be tendered for larger contractors to undertake more extensive projects shortly.
The Vice President, however, noted that while newer or smaller contractors benefit from the non-bidding allocation process, larger projects will follow a competitive tendering system. Contractors with experience handling projects worth $20 to $30 million or more will have the opportunity to bid.
And Jagdeo made his expectations of contractors very clear as he advised contractors to not engage in any form of bribery.
“The government wants this to happen. Secondly, if anyone accepts a bribe from you for doing shoddy work, any engineer or anyone, you let us know. You are clear what we want to achieve here”, he said.
He also stressed that contractors are expected to deliver high-quality work and that poor performance will result in being blacklisted from future projects.
“We will just put you on a list that you didn’t do well on a project.
“… the work you do here leaves room for you to make money but don’t think it’s a one-off thing. If you want to grow we will provide you with the opportunities for growth and I expect you to do proper work.”
The VP reiterated that the government’s approach aims to foster a transparent and inclusive environment for contractors of all sizes and by doing so ensures fairness, accountability, and quality.
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