[www.inewgsuyana.com] – The Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, has set the record straight regarding the Fedders Lloyd Memorandum of Understanding relative to the resumption of works on the construction of the Specialty Hospital.
This is after Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had labelled the engagement a “massive act of corruption” contending that Fedders Lloyd was disqualified in the initial instance.
In a statement the Ministry said that in the Public bidding done for the Specialty Hospital under the PPP/C government, four tenders were received.
Two were deemed to be rejected, leaving the remaining two – Surrendra Engineering and Fedders Lloyd Ltd. – in contention.
“In spite of the protestations of Fedders Lloyd, the PPP/C government selected Surrendra Engineering, leaving Fedders Lloyd as the second and only other bidder for the project. Surrendra’s services were eventually terminated by the previous government. Therefore, in accordance with Section 42(5) of the Procurement Act, the government can proceed to the second bidder,” the
![Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo [iNews Photo]](https://i0.wp.com/www.inewsguyana.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/IMG_1107.jpg)
It was noted too that the Ministry did not award a contract to Fedders Lloyd; the Ministry merely entered into a MOU with the second and, the only other qualified bidder.
“The advantages of proceeding in this manner, rather than going out for a new tender are many, including the fact that Fedders Lloyd expressed in the MOU its intention to hold its prices expressed in its original bid made some four years ago. In addition to being time consuming, a new tender will result, obviously, in price escalation due to inflation.’
It was stated that Fedders Lloyd intends to examine works already done by the previous contractor and to integrate those works within its proposed current design options, so as to lessen the burden of loss of funds already used.
“Procedurally, therefore, there is no impropriety in the method used by government in entering the MOU with Fedders Lloyd with the intention of leading to an award should the conditions stipulated in the MOU be met by Fedders Lloyd. The decision to utilize the instrument of the MOU safeguards the procurement process and seeks to optimize the use of Public Funds, in this case a loan, in the most beneficial way.”
Fedders LLoyd 23% reduction given at the last minute of the tender submission.
Person of interest is a fat crook at the Min of Finance.
The PNC administration is taking loans all over the world…INDIA, SAUDI, USA, CHINA and MEXICO….Guyana economy will soon be forced into Bankruptcy because these ministers has no sense to generate revenue….Its like a spiral debt mess that this country will end up in under this PNC administration. Obviously they will not care because the PPP will once again be left to try and stable the economy again….similar to what Burhnam did in the 80s that force the Guyana dollar value to degrade significantly…The Younger generation who helped to install this regime will soon smell the coffee beans at the bottom of the cup…if they have money to survive until the boat hit the bottom of the ocean with Captain Granger and naga as their leaders…..
Anyone who has been following this Specialty Hospital saga since the Ramotar regime issued a Letter of Award to Surendra on August 29, 2012, would readily agree the contract was mired in controversy from the get-go. Following a line of credit from Exim Bank of India to the Guyana Government, five Indian companies tendered bids on June 26, 2012 to build the hospital:
1. Fedders Lloyd US$17,679,000 (after a 23% discount);
2. Shapoorji Pallonji US$42,473,600;
3. Jaguar Overseas Limited US$15,658,000,
4. The Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research of India US$19.5 million, and
5. Surendra Engineering US$18,180,000.
The Ramotar regime went with Surendra even though that company reportedly specialized in fabricating spare parts for sugar mills across India and never constructed a building. It was eerily reminiscent of Jagdeo calling Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall into Office of the President and awarding him US$15.4M to build the Amalia Hydro access road even though Motiall never built a driveway or sidewalk.
Fedders Lloyd, which already had a track record as a construction company claimed the bidding and evaluation process that benefited Surendra was rife with irregularities and it even threatened to raise the issue with the Indian government, the Exim Bank of India and Guyana’s National Procurement and Administration Board (NPTAB).
In response, the Guyana Government accused Fedders Lloyd of orchestrating a campaign against the work of the NPTAB, bringing politics into the situation and trying to influence the outcome of the procurement process. Also in response to Fedders Lloyd’s request for a review, then Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon announced on September 5, 2012 that a review of the process would be undertaken. No review was done, which now begs the question of Jagdeo: what exactly was the basis for Fedders Lloyd being disqualified and Surendra being qualified, especially given that Surendra never constructed a building and eventually ran off with US$4M?
I want Guyanese to take special note of how Jagdeo studiously avoided the Surendra rip-off, but Surendra was not the only one that took off with money intended for the Specialty Hospital. In 2011, after Parliament was dissolved in preparation for elections, then Finance Minister Ashni Singh raided the emergencies-only Contigencies Fund and took GY$29M.
During the 2012 Budget debate, Singh asked the new opposition-controlled Parliament to replenish the GY$29M, but when asked what it was spent on, he said preparation of the Specialty Hospital foundation. When asked furher for a copy of the check or documents corroborating the work done, Singh couldn’t produce any. Kaieteur News promptly sent a photographer to the site and the picture KN published showed a large swath of land covered in grass. No foundation preparation work was ever done, so who misappropriated that GY$29M?
MASSIVE ACTS OF CORRUPTION DEFINED THE JAGDEO PRESIDENCY!
Treansparency International has criticized the lack of a tender process. Jagdeo has. Henry Jeffrey has. And Guyanese across the political spectrum have denounced it.
This is a corrupt deal.