THE NATIONAL Works Agency (NWA) has terminated agreements with six contractors for poor quality work done on the island's roads, since the beginning of the year.
Ivan Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of the NWA made the disclosure at the seventh annual general meeting of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), held recently at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
The CEO said that the Agency was insisting on getting value for money. "Value for money means roads being done on budget, on time and most importantly, in keeping with the specifications that we set out to achieve," he stated.
The CEO pointed out that in order to achieve this, "it cannot be business as usual."
POOR SERVICE
Mr. Anderson emphasised that it could not be acceptable for contractors to provide poor service and to continue to obtain work from the Government of Jamaica. "So we have set out to ensure that contractors who perform poorly have their contracts terminated, and over the past few months we have seen a number of announcements about contractors being terminated for poor performance."
He noted that the NWA had been embarking on a strong quality assurance programme, which involved getting the best staff to implement their projects, retraining staff, and supervising the projects. He added that the programme included the testing of materials, noting that to date, the agency had conducted some 5,000 tests on materials to verify that they are in keeping with specifications.
NO CERTIFICATION
Mr. Anderson pointed out that several of the laboratories in Jamaica have no certification. "We visited the labs and we have carried out testing to ensure that their own equipment is in keeping with the minimum standard. A number of these labs that we have gone to, the equipment have not been calibrated in years."
The CEO pointed out that the NWA had also been meeting with suppliers of materials to ensure that they understand what is required of them. Additionally, the agency was developing training programmes with HEART Trust/NTA to ensure that the people who implement on the ground understood the requirements of the projects.
