APNU Promises Procurement Reform and Support for Small Contractors
By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly news
Small contractors will have nothing to fear under an APNU-led government, says Ganesh Mahipaul, vice presidential candidate for the Partnership for National Unity (APNU). Speaking during the coalition’s campaign launch at the Square of the Revolution over the weekend, Mahipaul promised a new era of accountability and technical oversight in the awarding and execution of state contracts.
“You will be allowed to continue to work — but you will have to do proper work,” Mahipaul said, addressing small contractors directly.
Mahipaul, who previously served as the Shadow Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, criticized the current administration’s handling of public procurement, alleging that inexperienced contractors are routinely awarded multimillion-dollar projects, many of which remain incomplete or substandard.
One such example is the Belle Vue Pump Station project on the West Bank Demerara, valued at $868 million, which was initially awarded to Makrodrill Equipment Works (Pew Inc.). The project remains unfinished, prompting authorities to transfer the contract to Geico Engineering, despite Tapuwi Inc. having received an advance payment.
“All them snap-dash work you see… it will never happen,” Mahipaul declared, promising that under APNU, infrastructure projects would be supervised by qualified engineers and subjected to rigorous performance evaluations.
Mahipaul emphasized that procurement reform and anti-corruption measures will be central to APNU’s governance model, should they win the September 1 general and regional elections.
“Under the APNU, we will not have ‘pass a bribe here, pass a bribe there’ — nothing of the sort,” he added.
As campaign season intensifies, procurement and public infrastructure performance are emerging as key voter concerns, particularly amid rising scrutiny of government spending.
