Jagdeo calls for investigations into 3 major road projects

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has expressed deep concern over the construction of three major road projects, while simultaneously calling for the Auditor General’s Office to investigate them, as the contracts may contain areas to enable acts of corruption.
Addressing the press at his weekly press conference, Jagdeo said these projects include road works taking place on the East Bank Essequibo, Port Kaituma and Mabaruma roads.
The $1.2 billion East Bank Essequibo road rehabilitation project commenced in August 2017 but was delayed due to the obligatory removal of utilities. It is now back on stream.
Some $213.2 million was awarded to KP Thomas and Sons in May 2017 for repairs to the Citrus Grove Main Road, Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini).
Meanwhile, a $110.2 million contract for the Mabaruma road project was awarded to Mohammed Ramzanalli Khan Construction. This project entails the installation of approximately 3500 feet of concrete road or rigid pavements and drains within the community.
“We believe that the tender process was tampered with so as to inflate the contracts by hundreds of thousands of dollars in these road projects,” he said.
However, the Opposition Leader explained that these costs are hidden through a different form of corruption through the layer of the asphalt. According to him, some are done through contract and others through force account.
He said, “The asphalt is very expensive. So, if they put one inch instead of two inches on the specification that is about $50-60 million alone you can skim off the top… The earth works, through force account.”
The former Head of State concluded therefore that may be the main reason why the Public Infrastructure Minister headed by Minister David Patterson “loves to do a lot of force account work.”
“They don’t like awarding the tenders out directly and even when they do that, it’s a lot of corruption. So, they are three roads that are mired in corruption… And we are very concerned about the AG findings into these matters.”