AG 2023 Report reveals: $43.9M contract for Child Care facility terminated in May 2024

– contractor had been building center since Nov 2022

More than $300 million had been allocated last year to construct care facilities for the vulnerable in society, such as children and the elderly; but while progress was made towards construction of some of these facilities, the contract for construction of a Child Care Centre in Mahaica has had to be terminated earlier this year.
A $43.9 million contract had been signed in November 2022 for the construction of a Child Care Centre at Mahaica, and the project was supposed to have been completed within nine months of the agreement being signed. However, completion date had subsequently been revised to September 21, 2023.
According to the Auditor General’s Report for 2023, the contract had had to be terminated in May of this year because, up to that time, work had still not been completed and the contractor had already demobilized.
“At the end of 2022, the contractor received amounts totalling $21.907 million. In 2023, amounts totalling $2.692 million were paid, revising the total payments to $24.600 million, or 56 per cent of the contract sum,” the AG Report stated.
“Physical verification carried out on 19th June 2024 revealed that the works were incomplete, and the contract was terminated on 29 May 2024. The contractor had already demobilized from the site at the time, and the Ministry was in the process of preparing the final valuation at termination.”
In its response, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security confirmed that the contract had indeed been terminated, and that a valuation at termination was being prepared at the time. The Auditor General has gone on to urge submission of the valuation when completed.

Back in 2023, $353 million had been allocated in the budget for construction of day and night care facilities for children, including the one at Mahaica and the rehabilitation of a care center at Sophia, a care facility for senior citizens and a juvenile processing center at Brickdam, Georgetown.
In this year’s budget, $287 million has been set aside for the construction of care facilities for working parents, in particular single parents, while it has also been revealed that two day and night care centers would be built in Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara) and Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica).
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has demonstrated its zero-tolerance policy towards contractors causing project delays by terminating several infrastructure contracts throughout the year.
In July, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had inspected works in Region Three that were lagging behind schedule, prompting him to immediately terminate those projects. One significant project affected is the Bendorff to Maripa Access Road, valued at $55 million, and awarded to JP General Construction and Services on August 2, 2023.
The six-month contract involved constructing a 1000-metre road. However, the contractor completed only 45 per cent of the work, prompting the Minister to terminate the contract. A similar situation occurred with the rehabilitation of a bridge connecting Zeelugt North and Tuschen North, and First Cross Street (SH), Aracari, facing significant delays.