Gov't bills still unpaid - Long delays irk contractors
published: Monday | April 12, 2004

By Robert Hart, Parliamentary Reporter

THE MINISTRY of Transport and Works has failed to pay contractors for Government projects done islandwide despite promises to clear all or most of the near $1 billion debt by March 5 this year.

Transport Minister Robert Pickersgill made the admission during last Wednesday's sitting of Parliament's Standing Finance Committee. However, he did not reveal the exact figure owed.

During an examination of his Ministry's 2004/2005 budget, it came to the fore that no provision had been made for the payments.

Opposition member Joseph Hibbert, who questioned the Transport Minister about the overdue payments, said several contractors have been complaining to him.

Mr. Pickersgill acknowledged that there was no specific provision, but argued that his Ministry "is in touch with the Ministry of Finance" on the matter.

The Transport Minister assured the committee that the Government is not disregarding its commitment to the contractors.

"We are in touch, especially with the smaller contractors, and are keeping them abreast of what is happening," he said.

The commitment to clear most of the debt by the beginning of March was made at a meeting with the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica (IMAJ), the National Works Agency and the Ministry of Transport and Works on February 26.

According to the IMAJ, the Government had also promised at the time "to use the next 21 days to review all projects being done by the Ministry in order to determine how and when their completion will be financed."

SMART CARD'S LIMITED SUCCESS

It was also revealed at the committee that the more than one-year-old cashless payment system of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has led to a paltry seven per cent increase in profit to the national bus service.

Minister Pickersgill conceded that commuters have not enthusiastically latched on to the smart card system first implemented in December 2002.

"We have to be more persuasive in the marketing (of the smart card system)," the Trans-port Minister said when Mr. Hibbert raised the issue.