Having been involved for many years in contract documentation I am puzzled at what on earth the bidders on the wast management facility were actually bidding on.

We have now heard some words from Premier Alden McLaughlin after the fire at the dump finally burnt someones breeches into action. I wonder if we had heard anything at all if the fire hadn’t started?

McLaughlin explained at a press briefing, after the latest and biggest dump fire yesterday (Monday), that started last Saturday, negotiations had broken down after the contract had been won by a Dart led consortium two years ago!

For two years we have been asking when was something going to happen and no explanation was given except it would happen. Sometime.

Now we have learned that negotiations over the details of the contract are still taking place after it was signed. Excuse me? TWO YEARS?

Agreement has been agreed on the remediation. However, Dart has not been able to get agreement on the whole contract.

Agreement as to what? What did the tender documents ask for?

McLaughlin said “it was a very complex project and a very, very, expensive exercise”. Yes.

But surely that was what the tenderers were bidding on?

What was Dart proposing that he couldn’t get government to agree on that surely should have been covered in the contract documents?

It’s like sending out for bids for a house without specifying exactly what the house is going to look like, how many rooms it is going to have, and how big it is.

Build me a house. Right, Dart is the lowest bidder but he hasn’t exactly told us what is included in his bid. However we’ll accept his bid and now negotiate with him what we exactly want.

Now government have got agreement on the remediation and have split the contract up into phases. Remediation is Phase 1.

Good job we have the fire because I doubt if that would have happened. However, because we have the fire work cannot start until the fire is out.

Let’s go back to my house example. Although we don’t know, or can’t agree on the actual specifics, we will prepare the ground so we can actually build on it once we have completed the negotiations.

It’s a start any way and it will look like we’re doing something after we were awarded the contract two years ago.

However, what about that environmental impact study?

Isn’t that house being built in the middle of a rare native bird sanctuary?

Listening to what McLaughlin said after he had been asked about the possibility that no agreement will be reached with Dart over the next stages, he said, “There is always a possibility of failure.”

And that would mean, “We’d have to go back to a whole new RFP, a whole new bidding and procurement process”.

Holy smokes! It is looking very likely that the Dart winning bid will be dumped. Where? With the contract that was bid on? I hope so! Burn it up.

It is government’s goal McLaughlin said, “to get a permanent fix, at least for the next 25 to 30 years, for Cayman’s solid waste issues.”

Haven’t we just waited that long to finally get contract document out and find someone to provide this permanent fix?

And then negotiate with the winner……?

I can’t write anymore. I’ve got a headache. And its not from that evil, black, stinking smoke at the Dump..