THE MINISTRY of Local Government on Tuesday awarded contracts valued at $125 million for the rehabilitation of several parochial roads in the Corporate Area and St. Catherine.
The contracts will provide for the rehabilitation of about 24 kilometres of roadway.
Funding for the project, which falls under the Parish Infrastruc-ture Development Programme (PIDP), is provided totally by the European Union.
Local Government Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, while making note of the limited resources available, said she would not be accepting shoddy work from contractors and would not hesitate to disqualify contractors for future projects if they failed to perform.
She also said her Ministry would not bow to pressures brought on by demonstrations from the public and work of extortionists.
At the signing ceremony which took place at the offices of the Local Government Ministry on Hagley Park Road, St. Andrew in the presence of Kingston's Mayor Desmond McKenzie and town clerk Errol Greene, Spanish Town's Mayor Dr. Raymoth Notice, and Members of Parliament and councillors for the respective areas, Mrs. Simpson Miller appealed for them to unite and ensure that value was had for work done.
The Minister herself warned that she would be monitoring the various projects and, upon completion, would be examining the work done.
Patrick Wong, technical director, noted that despite the cash crunch now affecting the Government and revelations that close to half-a-billion dollars was owed to several road contractors, the Local Government Ministry he said has been up-to-date in its payments for work it has contracted.
Concerns were expressed on Tuesday about the number of contracts allocated to contractors.
Abe Dabdoub, Member of Parliament for northeast St. Catherine, making note of the packaging of contracts for allocation of work under the $125 million project, said that the process appeared not to be transparent.
Alcar Construction and Haulage Ltd. was awarded 11 of the 23 contracts.
But Minister Simpson Miller quickly announced that all contracts were put to tender and that the selection process was transparent.
