Social commentator turned contractor, Mikhail Rodrigues, aka Guyanese Critic, has been caught with his proverbial pants down as opposition Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul produced photos contradicting Critic’s comments in the media. Yesterday, Critic was asked to give an update on the highly controversial Belle Vue Pump station.
He said, “Y’all don’t worry, the pump station gon build. Is a billion-dollar project yuh know. Must visit the site deh nah man, y’all must visit the site. Thing doing, pile driving deh all kind of thing.”
From all indications, Critic did not expect anyone to call his bluff and visit the site. Today, Ganesh Mahipaul, who sits in the National Assembly in representation of APNU, reported that the site is not even active.
Mahipaul told Guyana Standard, “absolutely nothing is happening. There has been no progress between my last visit to now. I do not know what that fella is talking about when he said things doing.”
Pictures produced by Mahipaul do not depict any workers on site. The piles that Critic said were being driven into the ground were captured in the picture. But instead of driven and “all kind thing”, the piles were observed in bundles, laying on at least two sections of land at the site.
A pipe, which does not appear to be of industrial strength, is seen attached to a small mechanism covered by what appears to be a black cloth. To Critic’s credit, the photos capture an excavator on site.
This project, which has been smeared in controversy since the award of the contract, was originally pegged at $865M and was supposed to have been completed by July 29, 2025.
As of November, last year, the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) noted that the project was only at 4% when it was supposed to be at least half way completed.
Stabroek News had reported that pursuant to an investigation of the awarding of the contract to Rodrigues, the PPC had published a summary of its findings on April 16, 2024. It found defects in the award of the contract to Rodrigues.
One of the recommendations from that report said that since the contract had already been entered into, it was recommended that NDIA monitor the performance of the contractor who operates under the name Tepui Inc, and if found to be in breach, then the necessary steps, including termination of the contract, be considered to ensure that there is value for money.
It was also found that Rodrigues had never built a pump station before and was awarded the contract ahead of experienced bidders.
