Opposition Member calls for audit into Parika Market construction
“extravagance and opacity” surrounding project
The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development has failed to provide answers regarding the amount of money spent on the construction of the Parika Market, according to Opposition Member Ganesh Mahipaul.
He said on Thursday in a statement that during the Consideration of Estimates for the 2024 fiscal plan, Agency 13 which was the subject ministry under examination and its current Minister Sonia Parag failed to provide an update about the expenditure on the construction of the Parika Market.
Mahipaul, who is also the Shadow Minister of Local and Regional Development noted that a non-response from the Minister evoked suspicion as she tried by all means to evade the subject before the Parliamentary Committee of Supply, which is tasked with considering estimates in any fiscal plan.
“During the scrutiny of the 2024 estimates for Agency 13 - Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, I raised straightforward inquiries about the expenditure on the Parika market construction and Minister Sonia Parag’s response was marked by empty rhetoric, failing to address the matter,” the APNU+AFC member said.
He added, “The public is cognizant that despite budget allocations spanning from 2021 to 2023, no mention of the project was made in the 2024 estimates, suggesting its completion.”
This newspaper has garnered from Mahipaul’s statement that some $370 million was purportedly spent on this project. These large sums of money, coupled with the lack of transparency and accountability, and Minister Parag’s evasive responses before the National Assembly, according to the Opposition Member, indicates a clear sign of corruption.
He asserted that this project must undergo an urgent forensic audit, given the apparent “extravagance and opacity” surrounding it.
Stabroek News reported on March 26, 2023, that Panko Steel Fabrication and Construction Company had been working on the second phase of the expansion of the market in February of the same year when sparks from its welding works ignited flammable items in one of the stalls. As a result, the entire market was razed by the ensuing inferno.
Former Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharamlall, had claimed that the construction company which had been working on the Parika Market when it went up in flames would rebuild it at no additional cost to the government.
In December 2022 Panko was awarded a $270 million contract for the second phase reconstruction of the market. The contract was signed between a representative of the company and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Prema Ramanah-Roopnarine.
On Monday, March 13, 2023, Chairman of Region Three, Inshan Ayube, told this newspaper that the company had committed to rebuilding the market within a three
or four-month timeframe.
This newspaper reached out to the company and a representative promised that he would have a spokesperson return a call, which did not happen up to press time.
On February 10 at about 3:14 pm, a massive fire erupted destroying millions in stock, including clothing, jewelry, electronics, and food items, and much more, belonging to over a dozen vendors both in the market complex and along the roadside.
A report from the Guyana Fire Service concluded that the fire was a result of welding sparks coming into contact with combustible materials.
Many vendors had recalled hearing what sounded like explosions before the fire erupted. According to them, a stall which allegedly sold squibs and other fireworks was located beneath the welding works, and it is felt that those were the combustible materials that were ignited by the welding sparks.
Meanwhile, to aid with their losses, the Government of Guyana provided $300,000 in funding to the affected vendors while Demerara Bank Limited offered to provide them concessional loans.
While bidding documents required the company [Panko] to pledge insurance, it was to cover their bid security and not a disaster. For this reason, they are now solely liable for the completion of the promised works.