Finance Minister Ardwell Irion’s call on companies paid by government for work they never did to “give us our money back” (see Thursday paper) raised a few eyebrows. Readers mainly wondered how that situation could exist in the first place.
The minister said it happened “in the past” and “within the last five to 10 years.” He also spoke of “irregularities … even at the top” with payments made while projects were not executed.
Holding the businesses involved accountable and recovering these public funds with bailiffs if necessary is indeed important. However, although politicians were almost certainly involved in several of these cases, civil servants had to be as well, some of whom might still be occupying the same function.
It’s good to know the Jacobs II Cabinet is on top of these suspected improprieties and preventing any repeat should be a priority. This simply must not be possible anymore, regardless of who is holding office. Safeguards are needed to ensure such, considering that governing is continuity.
Speaking of which, why is it that some apparently get paid up front and others are made to wait until long after the job has been completed? A good example is contractors that manage the garbage dump recently going on strike and blocking access due to two months of outstanding pay and the non-renewal of their expired contracts.
There was a problem with the 2022 public tender that consequently had to be redone and the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI is preparing it. The current contracts are to be renewed in the meantime, but that too takes a while.
A meeting reportedly cleared the air and the landfills reopened, but this incident shows what people not getting paid on time can lead to. That is something government needs to keep in mind, so its complaints about not honouring agreements don’t sound like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black.
