CONTRACTORS WHO FAIL TO START WORK ON GOVT PROJECTS IN S'WAK WITHIN A MONTH CAN BE FIRED - DOUGLAS UGGAH
KUCHING, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- Contractors awarded any government projects in Sarawak must start work within one month after officially given the contract and failure to do so would result in stern action, including termination.
Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said these were among the measures taken as the state government wanted to put an end to delayed or abandoned projects by imposing stringent conditions.
"We have noticed some contractors getting, for instance, 20 or more projects. We fear that these will be beyond their capacity to get all these done at one time.
"Then there is also fear of the process of repetitive subcontracting that can adversely affect the quality of the end product, or worse still, the projects end up as delayed and abandoned projects," he said in a statement today.
Uggah who is also the Betong Division Development Agency (BDDA) Committee chairman, added that the people ended up suffering whenever such situations occurred and the government's reputation and integrity would be at stake.
The Sarawak Infrastructure and Ports Development Minister also said that annual development budgets need to be spent within their specified period.
In the case of Betong Division, he said the BDDA had been allocated a development budget of RM1.5 billion, which should come as additional funding for the division.
"Thus, we need to utilise all this and the extra fundings as well. But if we continue to have non-performing contractors and delayed projects, then we are going to have more and more problems," Uggah said.
He also called on the respective government departments and agencies to engage all elected representatives to assist in monitoring the implementation of projects.
-- BERNAMA
