Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall has made it clear that the Government works on a blind process when it comes to awarding contracts.
The Minister made this statement in light of an accusation by an Opposition Member of Parliament that the Government is not awarding any big contracts to Afro-Guyanese.
Dharamlall said that the statement is far from the truth while noting that there is evidence to prove this.
“Guyanese from all walks of life, of all ethnic divides, have been benefiting from contracts worth tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars and specifically Afro Guyanese, they have been benefitting from the hundreds of millions,” the Minister noted while speaking on the Guyana Dialogue.
When asked whether the Government would make this evidence public, the Local Government Minister said, “well, at some point of time, we will. A lot of these contracts are private individuals, so we will have to seek their permission to publicise who they are.”
But he said that if persons visit the National Procurement and Tender Board Website, the names of the contractors are available.
To this end, he assured Guyanese that the process of awarding contracts will always be transparent, and the Government will not be favouring anyone.
