President Irfaan Ali has instructed the Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, to immediately review all service and maintenance contracts within the sphere of the Government of Guyana and the entire State structure, in relation to drainage pumps, sluices, kokers, to enforce any penalty clause against contractors who are in breach of their obligations under these contracts.
He has also instructed Nandlall that where such penalty clauses are absent, that these contracts be renegotiated to insert such mechanisms, which can be activated when contractors fail to discharge their duties under such contracts.
The President’s directive comes weeks after he found pump attendants and sluice operators pussyfooting while Guyana was being battered by above-normal rainfall and extreme high tides, which has decimated regions causing immense damage and loss of livelihoods. The government recently declared the phenomenon a level 2 disaster, with the Civil Defence Commission mobilising resources to assist over 30,000 affected households.
The National Assembly recently approved sums totalling $10B to offer relief and rebuild damaged Infrastructure. The Prime Minister, Mark Phillips said that more monies may be needed in the future as the CDC continues its assessment.
