One-off deals to be stopped

By ZACHERY PER
ONE-off payments to contractors for district services improvement programme in Daulo, Eastern Highlands, are a thing of the past.
The Daulo district pro­ject management team has decided to separate the supply of materials and labour.
This means companies must bid through normal tender processes to supply each commodity.
Daulo MP Patrick Kondo and district administrator James Sipa said past experiences showed that when contractors were given a one-off payment, they took their time in implementing pro­jects.
Kondo said sometimes contractors did poor quality work or walked off without completing the project.
He said they had resolved to separate the supply of materials and labour so only qualified bidders undertook work on projects.
Sipa said it was the first time the Eastern Highlands government had taken this approach to speed up project implementation, get contractors to concentrate on the projects and complete them on schedule.
The decision was announced at the first signing of material disbursement contract between the district and material suppliers on Wednesday night in Goroka.