Pres Ali orders action against delinquent contractors on Corentyne highway bridges

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday issued a strong warning to contractors engaged in building bridges along the Corentyne highway, declaring that the Government will no longer tolerate poor performance, delays, or disregard for contractual obligations.
The Head of State made the remarks during an engagement with residents at State House in New Amsterdam, where he outlined new accountability measures for both contractors and supervising engineers.
President Ali said he is “astonished” at the level of sloth displayed by some of the contractors hired for the bridge-replacement programme, as well as by certain supervising engineers responsible for monitoring progress. He stressed that the delays are unacceptable, especially given the importance of the project to regional development.
“The Government has awarded the building of the bridges on the main public road, and you have seen the slothfulness of the contractors and the engineer who is supervising this project,” Ali stated. “I am astonished that liquidated damages are not yet applied. And from my information so far, these contractors seem disinterested in the completion of these bridges.”
The President said he has instructed the Permanent Secretary and the Head of Procurement to take immediate steps to enforce contractual penalties and to block non-performing contractors from receiving any new Government projects until they complete the bridges currently under construction.
“There is no excuse any more. There cannot be excuses; we pay for services from the Government, and those services must be delivered efficiently. There is no shortcut to this.”
President Ali was equally firm about the responsibility of project engineers, noting that several administrative requirements necessary for the Government to take action against delinquent contractors have not been properly documented.
“I have asked the Finance Secretary to examine whether project engineers are delinquent in the management of this project. If they are not ensuring that all administrative requirements are in place, the Finance Secretary is aware of the powers vested in the system for action to be taken, and action will be taken.”
He emphasised that the Government’s commitment to accountability applies “at every level”, and that those paid to deliver public services cannot expect to do so without measurable outcomes.