LAST Thursday, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali called an early-morning meeting at 5:30 am with the ministers, permanent secretaries, other senior officials, contractors, engineers and supervisory contracting firms.
The meeting was to iron out issues related to some firms that were dragging their feet on government contracts and work, and lagging four months behind.
The meeting was tense, with the President asking all the right questions of the ministers and contractors who were present. The meeting was heated from the “get-go” with the President declaring at one point that he “wasn’t in the mood” for foolish excuses.
The meeting became more interesting when the President found that some of the offenders who had contracts delayed for more than four months did not show up, or could not be reached for one reason or the other.
The meeting was streamed live for the world to see and delving deep into the issues, the President issued a stern warning to defaulting contractors to get their acts together as this is “serious” business. He also warned government ministries to tighten up their monitoring and evaluation of these contractors with the aim of getting value for every dollar spent. He warned them that he and by extension the government, would hold them accountable.
By the time the meeting was adjourned, word had spread like wildfire. The APNU and AFC got to work pointing out that it was the government that was creating the problem by its alleged incompetence and nepotism. The APNU and AFC officials did several interviews with the media, alleging several things about the government and contractors. They had a field day.
Firstly, the President must be commended for calling such a meeting with the ministers, senior officials, and defaulting contractors. While criticism is understandable of the earliness of the time of the meeting, the reasons for calling it outweigh this criticism. The meeting was far too critical and of national importance.
After all, the meeting was both transparent and frank. It allowed for the necessary and appropriate questions to be asked frankly, which revealed so many things that are wrong with the system and the management of these contractors and their contracts.
The President was rightly agitated by his ministers and other senior government officials, taking into consideration the explanations that emanated for the slothfulness, lateness and contractual delays which most times affect thousands of citizens and residents in communities.
The President was not throwing a fit or temper tantrum. He was not seeking to deliberately embarrass his ministers, staff or contractors. He was seeking answers about the delays with the government’s projects.
President Ali’s unapologetic tone, demeanour and sternness as publicly displayed in the meeting is part of what made the PPP/C victorious in the first place. This ‘tough-love’ approach to the government is most certainly welcomed because it demonstrates that someone is watching and still cares about the projects, quality and timeliness.
The public sees this no-nonsense approach and welcomes it because they know it will serve as a warning to other contractors who continue to take advantage of communities when they deliver faltering work and get away with it.
So, the President’s attitude or work ethic is not the problem. Going live with that meeting is not a problem. The time of the meeting is not a problem. The problem lies with what the meeting exposed — the faulty system, supervision and management of the contracts, and commitment of the people who are supposed to be acting in the public interest.
Secondly, the APNU and AFC are opportunistic. Instead of supporting the President’s meeting by standing firmly behind him, they chose to criticise the meeting. When a sane and objective person listens to the President and the meeting and then takes what the opposition is saying, they would fail to see a connection.
If APNU and AFC were listening, they would have learnt a very important lesson. The President was giving them a crash course in public management. But they would not know how to appreciate this because from 2015 to 2020 up to August, they did nothing to change or enhance public infrastructure in Guyana. They did not build anything from scratch that still is standing up to today.
For example, take a look at Durban Park on Homestretch Avenue which is barely standing. It is in a constant battle with time, weather and nature. That is a constant reminder of the APNU+ AFC’s time in office, public management portfolio, and the state of affairs of contracting as a sector during the years 2015-2020.
The opposition cannot be seriously talking about the current government’s reputation in the contracting field out of the side of their mouths. History would recall that incompetence, nepotism, and poor government performance were at home in the APNU+AFC government. Recall the stunt with doling out a few contracts to their friends, family and favourites. The then housing minister caught with her husband getting contracts in her own ministry.
Recall, no scholarships were easily accessible but the former minister’s children found a way to cash in on the system. Recall that a former public infrastructure minister was caught spending the public’s money on gold bracelets and gifts for himself. And, they are more scandalous and equally illegal things that reek of incompetence, nepotism and other less-than-transparent acts in office.
Thirdly, the fact is this meeting with contractors, government ministers and senior staff happens every single day. It is not a new development. The only difference is that this time, the public was let in on the heated exchanges which took place, so they could see their leaders working in their interest. This meeting is not a sham or some PR stunt that the President tried. It is real. It can be taxing and annoying trying to get to the truth when dealing with contractors who come with equally bad and difficult personalities.
Also, this meeting is not representative of the culture or state of all contracts in Guyana. It is representative of five per cent of all government contracts which are awarded. More than 8000 contracts are awarded by the government with a majority of them completed on time, according to specifications and within budget.
The contractors are doing a good job and are assisting this PPP/C government with its public infrastructure transformation, but the opposition wants the public to get the wrong picture. So, it is using the 5:30am meeting to peddle its narrative of deception.
Finally, the government’s tough-love approach is the right one. This is not the time for flattery and niceties.
It is not the time for mounting an excuse or defence of clearly inexcusable conduct which is wasting money, time and goodwill when the work or project is not done properly or completed on time. This is most certainly not the time to be idle or to save face.
This is the time for business and movement. This is the time for quality, hard and professional work. Contractors must be proficient and reasonable with these projects.
They must reduce time wastage and deliver high-standard work to change the public infrastructure landscape of this country. If the ministries and government officials work with the contractors providing the necessary supervision and support, then quality and value for money will be guaranteed for the public. Bureaucracy and bureaucratic inertia will be reduced by half.
Maybe, we need more meetings such as the one with the President occurring in all the sectors.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.