Holness wants to starve shoddy contractors of state works
Published:Tuesday | August 27, 2019 | 12:30 AMPaul Clarke/Gleaner Writer
For years, local contractors have got away with subpar work at high cost overruns on state projects. However, if Prime Minister Andrew Holness has his way, those days will soon be a thing of the past.
Yesterday, at the signing of the contract for the South Coast Highway Improvement Project, Holness made clear his intention to bring the practice to an end with a not-too-subtle jab at the state-run National Works Agency (NWA).
The prime minister said that while the NWA cannot be shuttered, changes will have to be made in how it operates.
“You can’t close down the NWA, but we can change how the NWA operates, and I will be spending a little of my time, especially with this project in the east, making sure that it is done properly,” Holness noted.
Must stand test of time
He said that it was the only way to ensure that in 50 years, the works will stand the test of time and the youth would be able to admire them, saying their parents did a good job.
Local contractors, through the NWA, will be carrying out a portion of the works on the South Coast Highway Improvement Project.
Holness said he intends to get the conversation going on how NWA contractors work.
“In this regard, I have asked the new procurement authority to give Cabinet a policy outline as to how it can introduce performance management contracting.
“We know of several contractors who have worked who don’t finish. They don’t complete projects on time, but yet they come back in the process. So there must be a way in the procurement process in which the past performance of those contractors features in their ability to get future work,” Holness said.
“I have asked the new procurement agency to come to us with that, as it has to be the start of the rules setting to create the institutional framework to change the culture of our contractors,” he added.
Holness said that eventually he wanted to see local contractors standing toe to toe with their Chinese counterparts domestically and on the international stage, delivering projects on time, within budget, and free of the negligent practices that have hamstrung the agency for many decades.