The three roading contractors involved in a drawn-out dispute with the Ministry of Infrastructure have filed another civil case.
The Minister for Infrastructure, Seventeen Toumoua, told Talaki newspaper a court appearance had been set for July.
He would not go into details, saying only that the contractors wanted the court to make a decision on what he described as things to which they have rights.
These proceedings are different from the contempt of court case which Kaniva News reported recently. That will go to court in April.
The Minister told Talaki the Ministry had won a case against a contractor who claimed he was owed $TP1.9 million by the previous government.
The Ministry’s internal auditor reviewed the contractor’s invoice and decided that the Ministry should only pay $TP900,000. The contractor disagreed and took the Ministry to court. The court ordered to pay the contractor only $TP826,000.
Two of the contractors, who had been hired by the previous government, were terminated by the court.
It is understood they were Inter Pacific Ltd owned by ‘Etuate Lavulavu, who had lost his political position and the Island Dredging Ltd owned by former Minister of Police Lord Nuku’s son.
It is believed that Island Dredging Ltd quarry ran out of rocks and Lavulavu was then in prison so his company was inoperative. The Ministry did not terminate the remaining company , the City Engineering and Constructions Ltd since it was still operative. The Ministry paid TP$150 to this contractor rather than the original $TP70 agreed.
The Minister said that under the original contract the government was paying $TP70 for a truck load of rocks, which was too little.
He said he met Miska Tu’ifua, who represented one of the three contractors and told him the government wanted to continue the roading works. Miska suggested increasing the price to $TP150 and the Ministry agreed. The contractors wanted to alter the original contract, which was approved by the former Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa’s government. The Minister suggested to Tu’ifua they should agree to a new contract of their own. After this, negotiations stalled.
The government then turned to the other quarry companies and purchased rocks from them, paying $TP200 per truckload to one company and $TP300 to another.
The three original contractors who signed with the former Tu’i’onetoa government then took the Ministry to court.
The Minister said the Ministry had complied with a Supreme Court order to reinstate the two contractors. The Minister said he then wanted the contractors to measure each truck load of rocks to make sure it agrees with the contract which said it must be a five tonne load of rocks or 3.8 cubic metre.
The Minister also wanted the contractors and the Ministry to reconcile the number of trucks on a daily basis. The Minister said he told the companies not to leave it long before they submitted their number of trucks to be paid to the Ministry.
The Minister confirmed that the original contract allows these contactors to provide rocks only for the government’s roading works.
