12 Feb 2013

Payment of interest and penalties to private contractors is made by line ministries and these are added to and paid as part of the contract sum, the Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning has said.

Answering a question in Parliament, Mr Vincent Seretse said according to submissions from the line ministries, factors leading to late payments which inevitably lead to interest charges are varied.

“They include change of scope of the project often without approval by PPADB as well as client-ministry disagreements on the quality of the deliverable whilst consultants have already submitted their claims,” Seretse said.

He further said it happens particularly when contractors and consultants submit unsubstantiated claims leading to prolonged disagreements on actual amounts due to payment.

He noted that thereafter, some contractors then claim interest for the portion that is eventually accepted as legitimate.

MP for Gaborone Central, Mr Dumelang Saleshando had asked the minister to state the factors that have led to the late payment of amounts owed to private contractors, leading to such contractors lodging claims for interest on the amounts owed. ENDS