00:00The Northwest Regional Health Authority has confirmed that PR Contracting Limited, the company awarded a $1.6 million contract for
00:08power washing and remedial works at the Port of Spain General Hospital, failed to complete a significant portion of the
00:15project.
00:15The contract, which began in June 2024 and was scheduled for completion within 60 days, was paid in full by
00:22May 2025 despite concerns raised by a whistleblower that the works remained unfinished at the Port of Spain General Hospital's
00:30Administration building and environs.
00:33Following a comprehensive internal audit investigation, the NWRHA concluded that the contractor did not deliver on its obligations.
00:41According to the confidential document, the payout of the full contract amount was due to certain lapses.
00:47Not adherence to the RHA's financial policies and procedures is evident when $1.4 million payment was processed in May
00:552025 without verification of project completion certificates.
00:58To date, PR Contracting Limited completed 13% of project deliverables valued at $225,000 of contract value.
01:08Work in progress valued at $346,000 at 21% without deadlines for completion.
01:14However, with reasons of awaiting go-ahead for NWRHA's personnel, close quote.
01:20The audit further revealed that the contractor had claimed $663,000 additional work variations.
01:26However, the facilities manager was unaware of two projects valued at $349,000 and the Tenders and Contracts Department was
01:35not notified of these variations.
01:37The audit said there were risks that new jobs could be created at escalated costs to prevent recovery of funds
01:43already paid.
01:44The audit investigation stated further, open quote,
01:47Quote, poor project management is evident since a 60-day project is incomplete after 24 months.
01:54The contractor and facilities manager produced different reports on the status of the project items completed in progress, descoped, and
02:02added, close quote.
02:03Quote, the audit also found that poor communication among the stakeholders also contributed to poor management of the project.
02:10One of the key things the audit pointed out was the absence of constant monitoring, management, and communication with the
02:17contractor to ensure the execution of project deliverables.
02:20In closing, the audit investigation recommended, open quote,
02:23The authority would now need to negotiate with PR Contracting Limited new timelines for completion of the project and to
02:30ensure that costs were reasonably priced for additional works claimed, close quote.
02:34TV6 News reached out to PR Contracting Limited's owner, Shiva Parasaram, and left a message through an employee at his
02:40office for his response on the willingness of his company to negotiate the recommended timelines, following the findings.
02:47However, up to news time, he had not returned our calls.
02:50Mark Bessant, TV6 News.
