Georgetown: The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Board of Directors will be looking to review the process that it utilises to award contracts to bidders.
GGMC Chairman Clinton Williams said that some flaws have been found in the process.
He pointed out that a meeting was going to be held with all of the Commissioners in an effort to iron out the issue and will be looking to “review the entire system”.
The GGMC Chairman said the contract was awarded by the Commission as a body and upon review of the contract being awarded, “we found some flaws”.
In a subsequent release from his office, Williams said “the submitted bids were evaluated and a recommendation was made to the Board for approval. However, given the nature and scope of the project, the Board at the request of Minister Persaud is currently reviewing the recommendations and a decision will be forthcoming in the immediate future.”
The GGMC is expected to spend at least $600 million to rehabilitate the building at 44 High Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, where the now obsolete Guyana Broadcasting Corporation’s (GBC) studios were once located.
However, the Government has since signalled its intention to investigate the recent awarding of a contract by the GGMC to a contractor, which has been a source of contention.
This is according to the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, when he was questioned by reporters on Wednesday at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, “there had been strenuous objections to the award of a contract purported to have been made by the GGMC”, or one of its Board members.
He explained that the matter was brought to the attention of the Cabinet by one of the members, and as such, Government will investigate the issue.
However, Dr Luncheon explained that the GGMC is considered to be an autonomous body and was not subject to procurement laws.
“They have not considered themselves subject to the Procurement Act; therefore, the awards and contracts are not usually brought to the Cabinet,” the Head of the Presidential Secretariat explained.
He said as a result, the Government was not fully aware of the circumstances surrounding the awarding of the contract and its subsequent contentions.
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