Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 05, 2011 News
First sluice door photograph
On February 22, last, bids were opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board for the construction of a sluice door at Stryken Hovel, East Bank Essequibo. The engineer’s estimate for this Ministry of Agriculture project is $5,214,400.
When a reporter from this newspaper went in search of the sluice on the East Bank of Essequibo the location could not be found and none of the postmasters in the area could locate it.
Having wasted the entire day in search of the location in Essequibo as was stated by the tender board; contact was then made with the subject Minister Robert Persaud who redirected the reporter to the West Bank of Demerara and promised specific directions later.
This was not forthcoming but the following day the reporter eventually located the sluice with the help of farmers from that community and the photograph of the damaged door was published on last Sunday’s edition.
The Ministry of Agriculture quickly responded saying that the project was not for the repair of ONE sluice door as was indicated at the Tender Board.
According to the Ministry, the scope of works and estimated cost which serve as guide for the project include, the installation of two new sluice doors, the installation of stop logs, “de-watering the pits of both sluice gates”, removal of existing sluice doors and the installation of new doors along with the servicing and repairs of the lifting mechanism, formed part of the project.
Other associated works including wire ropes, pulleys, gate guides, guiding strips and the installation of various new components, a contingency sum for unforeseen works, cost for performance bond and cost for insurances as contained in the standard bidding document formed part of the total cost, according to the Ministry.
Second Sluice Door Photograph
On the same day another set of bids were also opened for a sluice door situated at Coverden, East Bank Demerara to be rehabilitated along with the creek channel being cleared. The engineer’s estimate is $11,750,000.
This newspaper yesterday published a picture of a sluice bordering Coverden and Caledonia on the East Bank of Demerara which NDIA said in fact belongs to Caledonia and is not the sluice identified for that project.
NDIA is now saying that the $11.7M project includes the removal and installation of a new door, clearing and grubbing of the embankment along one dam of Bulai canal, Ferguson canal, Clarke canal, Thomas canal and Sucker canal, cleaning and disposal of material with excavation of Bulai canal, Ferguson canal, Clarke canal, Thomas canal and Sucker canal totalling 58,000 cubic yards to design specifications and placing material on the cleared dam to form a new embankment.
The actual sluice which is slated for repairs is said to be located in the farmlands of Coverden.
NDIA stated that it is 1,730 rods of canals equivalent to 3.9 miles would be cleared and excavated comprising the Bulai, Ferguson, Clark, Thomas and Sucker canals.
The breakdown for the project is as follows: Preliminaries $550,000; clearing, excavation and new embankment, $10,850,000; and rehabilitation of door $350,000; all totalling $11,750,000.
Publisher of this newspaper, Glenn Lall, said that had they been given the same specifications and directions given above when the team was at the tender board, “we would not have been going through this.”
He said that information was deliberately being withheld so as to frustrate the newspaper from exposing these projects.
He said it is a deliberate attempt to stifle information and to rape the nation’s coffers.
Lall said that this is one of the many tactics being used to deny the newspaper in the future any entry to tender board meetings. The authorities would want to cite false reports as a reason.
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