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..