Concur for Project Oversight Commissioner

Dear Editor,

On the November 11, KN published an article by Reggie Bhagwandin- “Government projects need an oversight commissioner”.
The author beat me first to address this issue, which makes me suspect that there are probably others out there with the same thought in mind.
It was a superb article, hitting the key action points. The various complex projects on hand and in the pipeline are voluminous, and though the spot checks by the Minister of Works may be necessary, it’s somewhat doubtful that all the projects can be eyeballed timely.

Without an oversight commissioner, or equivalent, we will have companies like the one working at CJIA playing games with the Government of Guyana, and making fools of us. They bring a new definition to the word “eyepass” (a Guyanese Creole slang for meaning disrespectful).
This government would probably not have had to terminate the contracts (correctly), of certain contractors a few days ago, if an effective commissioner were in place. Frankly, such non-performing contractors should be blacklisted which would be a warning shot to other contractors.

Continuing, an upside of having someone in this critical position is to also place other contractors on notice. I would guess that this person, who can display grit and backbone, would be spending a majority of time in the field, so it’s really not a one man show position. A one man/woman show position will be doomed for failure, from the beginning.
Individual needs to be in charge of a unit.
The workload now and in the near term will be enormous.
I have already made a bet with myself that many of the projects will end up being problematic and substandard, without the effective oversight.

Chi Kansi