BY ALICE CAMPBELL
OPPOSITION Leader Matthew Wale calls on the Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MID) to ‘seriously’ review all road and infrastructure contracts.
Following a month of heavy rains, Honiara’s roads have deteriorated to severe conditions which Mr Wale described earlier this week as ‘posing risks to lives’.
Wale doubled down on this yesterday, blaming it on ‘unqualified contractors who lack the technical capacity, equipment, or experience to deliver durable infrastructure’ who MID has been contracting to repair Honiara’s roads.
He also calls on the MID Minister to ‘remove people who are incapable of their job’.
“I encourage the minister to take the lead to ensure only genuine, properly qualified, and experienced contractors are awarded road construction and maintenance contracts across the country,” Wale said in a statement yesterday.
The Opposition Leader said the continued deterioration of roads, bridges and infrastructure, particularly during heavy rain, is clear evidence of poor workmanship and weak oversight in the awarding of public infrastructure contracts.
“Too many of our roads are failing within months of completion. This raises serious questions about contractor qualifications, procurement standards, and supervision by responsible authorities.”
Taxpayers’ money must not be wasted on substandard work carried out by unqualified contractors who lack the technical capacity, equipment, or experience to deliver durable infrastructure, Wale said in the statement.
Wale said officials entrusted with safeguarding public funds and infrastructure standards have a duty to do their jobs.
He said their failure to properly monitor projects and hold contractors accountable has contributed significantly to the current state of our roads.
“I am urging the MID minister to remove people who are incapable of their job.
“Roads, bridges or any public infrastructure for that matter are not just about convenience. They are critical for safety, access to markets, health services, and education. When roads collapse, communities suffer and lives are put at risk,” Wale said.
The Opposition is calling MID to:
-Enforce strict contractor qualification and accreditation requirements
-Ensure transparent and competitive tender processes
-Strengthen supervision and quality control during construction
-Hold contractors accountable for defective or failed works
Solomon Islands has just come through three consecutive bouts of bad weather in which heavy rains and strong winds warnings were sounded for the entire country.
The adverse weather conditions were associated with troughs which hovered over the country, caused by tropical low systems which were developing to the country’s south.
Cancellation for the latest bout of bad weather warnings came about on Sunday, Feb 1.
Apart from Honiara’s roads, bridges in parts of Guadalcanal leading into the east and western ends of the city were also damaged by flooding.
MID throughout has been engaging contractors to repair the roads in between intermittent torrential rains but it only seemed to worsened the roads’ states.
With the sun shining again, it is hoped that the dry weather continues for road repairs to continue without disturbance.
Photo: MID
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