does not mean that the Regional Executive Officer

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Against increasing scrutiny of government contracts, several regional officials on Wednesday met to discuss a growing intolerance to substandard work and overpayments.During the meeting at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persaud, warned of action.The forum was the Regional Engineers Department and Works Committee Workshop.Engineers and regional officials at the workshopThe aim of the workshop was to ensure more synergy between the various regional engineers departments and the Works Committees so as to ensure that taxpayers get value for money, a government statement said of the forum.Persaud said that for far too long the “blame game” has been played between these two bodies. He lamented the fact that year after year, the Auditor General (AG) finds evidence of overpayment in all of the 10 Administrative Regions.“Overpayment in this regard, does not mean that the Regional Executive Officer (REO) approved payments in excess of the contracted sum; but rather, it means that what was paid for was not completely executed.”Persaud disclosed that he is currently compiling information that he has received on incidences of extortion at the Works Department in Region 10. He noted that this information will soon be handed over to the police for the necessary action.He told both elected, as well as appointed officials from the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) that if they find that the salary they are receiving is too small, they should look for other alternatives instead of resorting to extortion.“Don’t attempt to fleece the contractors; when you try to extort from contractors, it is the quality of work that suffers, and it is the taxpayers’ dollars that is poorly spent,” the Minister reminded.With regards to complaints of substandard work, Persaud explained that representatives from the political parties form the Works Committee.“They are the ones who are responsible for signing the final certificate that the work is satisfactorily done and in so doing, recommend the final payment, which is then approved by the REO. It seems that this fact is lost on the political leaders of this country and so we seek to beat up on the appointed officials and as elected officials, we position ourselves as though we had no relationship with regards to these payments,” the Minister said.Turning his attention to the appointed officials, he made reference to a series of misdemeanours which have been occurring at the Works Department level. These include drafting of bills of quantities without finalising designs, constructing buildings without making any provision for the installation of doors and windows, and using of bills of quantities that are not reflective of the scope of work.The Minister also reprimanded REOs for not bringing sanctions to bear on errant regional engineers, overseers and superintendents.