By Gina Maka’a
The Government appears to have run out of money needed to prepare Honiara for the Pacific Games, which officially kicks off this Sunday.
In September this year, the Central Tender Board awarded 23 road contracts worth SBD$20,130,451 to various companies to upgrade and maintain the roads ahead of the Games.
But with less than four days to kick-off, none of the contract monies have been paid to any of the companies to enable them to start the maintenance work.
Those who have done some works on the segment of roads, they were allocated did so at their own costs.
But most have not started, and those who’ve tried to have stopped due to lack of funds.
In-depth Solomons was unable to reach Ministry of Finance officials today to clarify why no payments were made.
However, we spoke to two of the contractors, who confirmed the Government is yet to pay them a single penny although they have started some works at their own cost.
Roland Piko is the owner of Ropiko Enterprises Ltd, which was awarded the contract to maintain three lots of unsealed feeder roads in East Honiara worth $1.29 million.
He said he’d done some works based on the quantity of materials in his BOQ (Bill of Quantity).
Piko said when he raised it with MID Engineers the quantity of gravel was not enough, they advised him to just do what’s in his contract because it’s just an “emergency work”.
“So we just follow what they say,” Piko said.
Another contractor, Lawrence Sulobo of Ultimate Enterprise, was awarded two contracts worth a total of $1.8 million.
The first contract is for reinstatement of selected concrete footpaths on the JICA Phase 2 overlay road sections worth $1,241,152.50.
The second contract worth $591,254 is for line marking to JICA Phase 1 main sealed road upgrade from HCC(Honiara City Council) roundabout to MFMR(Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources) at fishing village.
Sulobo told In-depth Solomons he had done some works so far along the footpaths at his own cost.
“We are yet to receive any payments from the Government. Not even the 20 per cent mobilisation payment they normally pay at the start of every contract,” he said.
“So the work we’ve done so far was at our own cost,” he added.
No work on the line marking has been done to date.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader Matthew Wale has expressed concerns about the deteriorating state of roads around Honiara city.
He cited documents revealing that road contracts amounting to SBD$20,130,451 were allocated for 23 contracts to companies for road maintenance, drainage, concrete footpaths and line markings from West Honiara to Red Beach Road.
He said according to the documents, it also includes selected unsealed feeder roads in East Honiara, unsealed feeder roads in West Honiara, sealed feeder roads in West/Central Honiara, Lio Creek unsealed road and specific & routine maintenance of selected sealed feeder roads of East/Central Honiara (Vura, Naha, Kola Ridge roads).
The Opposition Leader said he is concerned that some of the companies that were given contracts were deregistered, some registered not as road construction companies whilst some are ghost companies according to the Company Haus.
“I am concerned how some of these companies have managed to go through the selection process and the CTB in awarding these contracts,” he said.
Wale said whilst most of these contracts were for road maintenance for the Games, it raises a lot of questions on the quality of work in and around Honiara.
“Whilst millions of dollars are allocated for these projects, the Honiara central business precinct is shamefully full of potholes, the west Honiara road is at its worse state and the feeder roads identified have not been fixed,” he said.
The Opposition Leader said it has been alleged that there is collusion between some contractors and ministry insiders on the allocation of contracts.
He said if this is true, it is a disgrace that some people within the ministry are reportedly working with some contractors in trying to milk public funds at the expense of the public.
Wale said the Ministry of Infrastructure & Development (MID) must come clean and explain the nature of work of each company and their background on road maintenance construction.
Comments are being sought from MID.
Here are the names and amounts allocated for contracts:
1. Ropiko Enterprise Ltd unsealed feeder roads in East Honiara, Lot 1 of CTB C27/23, MID ($551, 170).
2. TR Group Company unsealed feeder roads in East Honiara, Lot 2 of CTB C27/23, MID ($365,140).
3. SINBAD Construction unsealed feeder roads in East Honiara, Lot 4 of CTB C27/23, MID ($546,662).
4. JIEME Construction unsealed feeder roads in East Honiara, Lot 5 of CTB C27/23, MID ($502,770.20).
5. Nelson Bro Construction unsealed feeder roads in East Honiara, Lot 6 of CTB C27/23, MID ($492,320).
6. Ropiko Enterprise Ltd unsealed feeder roads in East Honiara, Lot 7 of CTB C27/23, MID ($447, 450).
7. Ropiko Enterprise Ltd unsealed feeder roads in East Honiara, Lot 8 of CTB C27/23, MID ($298, 840).
8. Midwest Company unsealed feeder roads in West Honiara, Lot 1 of CTB C28/23, MID ($332,920).
9. BHB General Works unsealed feeder roads in West Honiara, Lot 2 of CTB C28/23, MID ($751, 500).
10. Tadiki Holdings unsealed feeder roads in West Honiara, Lot 3 of CTB C28/23, MID ($365, 820).
11. CAPITOL Construction unsealed feeder roads in West Honiara, Lot 4 of CTB C28/23, MID ($369, 700).
12. LOKOL Logistic Service unsealed feeder roads in West Honiara, Lot 5 of CTB C28/23, MID ($401, 600).
13. Build Solomons unsealed feeder roads in West Honiara, Lot 6 of CTB C28/23, MID ($343, 490).
14. XIAO’s Construction Ltd sealed feeder roads in West/Central Honiara, Lot 1 of CTB C29/23, MID ($358,130).
15. XIAO’s Construction Ltd sealed feeder roads in West/Central Honiara, Lot 2 of CTB C29/23, MID ($380, 400).
16. XIAO’s Construction Ltd sealed feeder roads in West/Central Honiara, Lot 3 of CTB C29/23, MID ($588, 400).
17. Day-Break Civil Construction Lio Creek unsealed road, CTB C30/23, MID ($1,666,880).
18. NITER Civil Construction Honiara Highways drainage maintenance contract, Lot 1 from Henderson Domestic to Ranadi Roundabout, CTB C31/23, MID ($2, 253, 376).
19. Sustainable Resources Management Ltd periodic and routine maintenance of Red Beach Road, CTB C40/23, MID ( $958, 236).
20. AP&S Plant Hire periodic and routine maintenance of Bloody Ridge Road, CTB C41/23, MID ( $1,388,071.20).
21. EMCO Pacific (SI) Ltd for specific & routine maintenance of selected sealed feeder roads of East/Central Honiara (Vura, Naha, Kola Ridge roads) 5.51km, CTB C42/23, MID ($4,935,170.50).
22. Ultimate Enterprise for reinstatement of selected concrete footpaths on JICA Phase 2 overlay sections, CTB C43/23, MID ($1,241,152.50).
23. Ultimate Enterprise for line marking to JICA Phase 1 main sealed road upgrade from HCC roundabout to MFMR at fishing village, CTB C25/23, MID ($591,254).
