00:00Questions have been raised about a $1.6 million contract that was awarded by Northwest Regional Health Authority to PR
00:09Contracting Limited for power washing services at the Portus Payne General Hospital.
00:13The contract was awarded in June 2024 and is now the subject of an internal investigation after work was reportedly
00:21left incomplete less than two months after it began.
00:24The probe is expected to determine why the project was not finished, whether the terms of the contract were breached
00:31and if any public funds were paid for work that was never completed.
00:35When contacted by TV6 last Wednesday, the owner of PR Contracting Limited, Shivam Parasaram, denied any wrongdoing.
00:43Speaking on the record, Parasaram said,
00:46Only, open quote, I have an ongoing contract with the NWRHA and I am awaiting further instructions, close quote.
00:53Pressed on questions surrounding the project and the allegations that the work was left incomplete, Parasaram declined to comment further,
01:01stating there was little else he was prepared to say.
01:04The matters since triggered an internal audit aimed at determining accountability on whether procurement rules and the contract management procedures
01:12were properly followed.
01:13The audit was launched after the issue came to light in May this year.
01:16Sources familiar with the investigation told TV6 News that the controversy centers on allegations that the full contract to sum
01:24of $1.663 million was paid in May 2025, despite claims that the work on the project had stopped in
01:32late August 2024.
01:33When those allegations were put to PR Contracting Limited's owner, Shivam Parasaram, he disputed the suggestion that no work had
01:41been carried out.
01:42Parasaram maintained that his company did perform work at the facility last year, but declined to elaborate further.
01:49NWRHA's acting CEO, Judith Ballyram, when contacted by TV6 last week, confirmed that there was an ongoing investigation into the
01:58contract awarded to PR Contracting Limited.
02:00Open quote, we are very concerned about this matter and our internal audit is looking into it.
02:06Ballyram stated, close quote, she stated that the contractor will be prohibited from continuing work on the compound until the
02:13conclusion of the investigation.
02:15Ballyram said she could not say exactly how much work had been done, but did contend the contract had been
02:21paid in full.
02:22The present CEO, Anthony Blake, is on vacation leave.
02:25All payments to PR Contracting Limited were made via online banking on May 21st, 2025 at 1.28pm for $400
02:33,999,400,999,000 and later that day at 1.51pm the sum of $176,364.77 and $320,849
02:48,000.
02:49Which amounted to $1.497,000,000, with the first payment certificate covering the mobilization fee of $166,000, hence
03:00covering the entire cost of the contract of $1.663,000,000.
03:04Parasuram acknowledged receipt of the payments when asked by TV6.
03:09According to one of the substantive payment certificates obtained by TV6, the project involved power washing of the administration building
03:15of the Portus Payne General Hospital.
03:17Insiders explained that a payment certificate issued on August 26, 2024 was a signal for the ministry to disperse funds
03:25as the work had supposedly been completed and funds could be remitted for the project.
03:30However, NWRH's acting CEO, Judith Ballyram, told TV6 when questioned about the contract that what should have accompanied the payment
03:38certificate for full payment to be made was also a certificate of acceptance, final completion.
03:45Open quote.
03:46This is usually signed off by the NWRH's operations manager and the contractor, but you have not had any sight
03:53of such document.
03:54Close quote, said Ballyram.
03:56Parasuram, when asked about that completion document, would only say that it was an internal issue with some beef happening
04:02inside the NWRH.
04:04The project commenced in mid-June 2024, two weeks after PR Contracting Limited was officially awarded the contract based on
04:12documents obtained by TV6.
04:14According to a document submitted by PR Contracting Limited to the NWRH, the contract was expected to be completed within
04:2060 days.
04:21Several insiders confirmed that a huge percentage of the power washing and other remedial works associated with the contract had
04:28not been completed when the contractor purportedly stopped work on the project in late August 2024.
04:34Open quote.
04:35The physical inspection of the project site revealed that the works were materially incomplete and does not support final completion.
04:44Significant portions of the southern boundary of the facility remained unpainted and extensive areas were not pressure washed despite these
04:51activities forming part of the contractor's scope of works.
04:54Close quote, said a senior insider.
04:57The senior insider explained it further.
04:59Open quote.
05:00In addition, several critical work items remain incomplete or entirely unexecuted to date.
05:05Despite this material incompleteness, the contractor was certified as having completed the project and was subsequently paid in full.
05:13This raises significant concerns about which completion was certified for the issuance of payment.
05:19Close quote, said the senior insider.
05:21Paris Aram said he had no communication with the acting CEO of the NWRH and was unaware of the investigation
05:28into the contract.
05:29Mark Lassant, TV6 News.
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