Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha on Wednesday called out Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Ganesh Mahipaul for his “hot and cold stance” on the status of pump station projects across the country. Mustapha said on one occasion, Mahipaul blames the contractors for the delays plaguing some of the projects, then in other instances, he conveniently faults the government.
The minister highlighted the foregoing during the consideration of 2024 budget estimates for the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) in the Committee of Supply.
The minister stressed the government’s commitment to transparency for all projects as the $10 billion allocation to the NDIA under faced scrutiny from Mahipaul.
The opposition parliamentarian raised concerns about several incomplete pump stations that were allocated for under the NDIA’s 2023 budget of $15.4 billion. He pressed Minister Mustapha for detailed information, requesting the locations, contractor’s names, contracted sum, completion dates, previous year’s expenditure and current balances for these pump stations. Further, he urged the minister to provide the investment programme for the agency regarding these projects while emphasizing the need for timely submissions of monthly progress reports.
In response, Minister Mustapha said NDIA’s Board of Directors has all of the information requested by his counterpart and he committed to furnishing the National Assembly with same at the earliest opportunity.
As it relates to the incomplete pump stations, he asserted that the government’s continued efforts to resolve all delays but was keen to note Mahipaul’s inconsistency in his complaints regarding the projects. He alleged that Mahipaul had initially blamed delinquent contractors for the delays but later shifted blame to the government.
“When the honorable member would have mentioned a number of issues. I went out and answered and (asked) why these pump station were delayed… And the honorable member later said that there were delinquent contractors,” the Minister remarked.
He added that, “When we took steps to remove those (delinquent) contractors he went back and blame the government—That is hot and cold breeze the honourable member is blowing.”
Notably in October 2023, following a revelation made by Mahipaul of six incomplete pump station projects, the NDIA came to the fore to clarify the reasons for delays in each project. Those issues ranged from squatters near the Charity Pump Station to the removal of shops and utilities at the A-Line Pump Station. Delays at the Canal No.1 Pump Station which resulted from the need to obtain approval for demolishing a community center faced challenges due to erosion, thereby requiring the construction of a bridge and access dam.
Also, the contract for the Black Bush Polder Frontlands Pump Station was terminated due to poor quality work by the contractor but it was noted that it will be retendered.
The NDIA had asserted that all extensions for these projects were legally granted by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) due to the encountered difficulties and had criticized Mahipaul for resorting to the newspapers with allegations, suggesting he could have sought information before making public claims.
Despite these challenges, Mustapha underscored the government’s commitment to completing all tendered contracts for pump stations. He also noted that this year’s $10 billion allocation for NDIA will also cater for another pump station to be built at Chesney, East Berbice Corentyne (Region Six).
