Contractor refuses to complete Sand Creek Health Centre

Almost 2 years after

…as it begins to collapse

Despite being paid almost 90 per cent of an $11.4 million contract, a Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) contractor is now refusing to complete the expansion project at the Sand Creek Health Centre which started in 2016.
The contract was awarded in June of 2016 and was expected to be completed three months later. However, three months later, the project was not completed, and the contractor seemed to have abandoned the site.
The expansion works comprised of extending the existing health centre building, inclusive of plumbing, rainwater and electrical installations, construction of a new

septic tank and soakway and minor rehabilitation works to the existing building.
Regional Chairman Brian Allicock explained that the contractor would have extended the building and added what looked like a septic tank but noted that

none of the additions was completed.
“The contractor has not completed the project and it is only like 40 per cent completed. The contractor was paid for 90 per cent of the work despite it not being done. This was done under REO Carl Parker,” Allicock said.
He noted that the Indigenous Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock visited the community of Sand Creek and met with the contractor who, despite promising to, did not restart the work. He further explained that the regional administration would have made contact with the contractor but he blatantly refused to complete the project.
“The region contacted him several times to tell him that the building is falling apart and that we need to have it rectified and completed. He has blatantly refused to come in and restart the project and we will be taking action against him because by the time we have restarted work then it will be time for a whole new one,” the Regional Chairman said.
According to the Regional Chairman, sections of the new wall are collapsing posing a risk to life and limb, the septic tank has caved in.
The residents of the area are calling on the Government to intervene and ensure that the contractor completes the project adding that health care delivery to the community is affected since the present condition of the facility is deplorable.
In 2017, the Auditor General’s report found that the contractor received over $5 million in overpayments. “No personnel or equipment from the contractor was on

site and an overpayment of $5.407M was discovered,” the report noted.
The report also highlighted that the contractor received payments totaling $10.338M at the end of December 2016 but when a team visited in June of 2017 there were no signs of work ongoing and the project was stalled. When contacted, current Regional Executive Officer Kerwin Warde explained that he could not comment on the project since he has no information about it. He did promise to gather information and relate said information to Guyana Times but several calls after were unsuccessful. Up until press time, the information was not received by this publication.