Minister Gumbs defends VROMI’s handling of waste tender, roads and permit backlogs

GREAT BAY--Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Patrice Gumbs Jr. provided Parliament with responses to questions from Members of Parliament on several matters involving the Ministry of VROMI, including the solid waste tender, district cleaning contracts, car wreck removal, road repairs, permit backlogs, the landfill compactor, garbage collection, drone technology and the Emergency Debris Management Project.

Minister Gumbs opened his response by addressing questions about the failed solid waste tender process and confirmed that clarification was provided to haulers regarding the mix-up between district cleaning contracts and solid waste contracts. He said a group meeting was held with the haulers and bidders, during which he again apologized for the communication issues related to the tender. He also expressed appreciation to the bidders for the time and effort they invested in preparing and submitting their bids.

Addressing questions about the disqualification of bidders in the solid waste tender, Minister Gumbs said the Terms of Reference clearly required bidders to sign and initial submitted tender documents in blue ink. He said some of the unsigned documents were official third-party documents, while others were general tender forms. The Minister added that for future tenders, the Ministry intends to propose a simplified declaration form to streamline this requirement.

Minister Gumbs said the evaluation found several reasons for disqualification, including failure to sign submitted documents, lack of SZV registration, missing business licenses, failure to initial required tender forms and business licenses that did not include solid waste management or waste collection. Other bidders were disqualified for using outdated rate forms from a previous tender period or failing to apply the required addendum to the rate forms for the 2026 to 2029 solid waste collection tender.

On whether the tender requirements were too difficult, the Minister said the Ministry does not share that view. He explained that the Ministry had deliberately removed the bank guarantee requirement, which had been a barrier for local contractors in previous tenders. According to Gumbs, legal advice indicated that such bank guarantees are more commonly associated with construction and infrastructure projects. He said removing that requirement lowered a significant barrier while maintaining contractual safeguards.

The Minister also confirmed that Grant Thornton was contracted to conduct a comprehensive review of the tender process. He said the review includes attention to financial feasibility under real market conditions and whether the proposed budget is realistic given operational demands. According to the Minister, the draft assessment found that the proposed budget was in line with regional best practices, considering waste volumes, route complexity and operational productivity. He said the finalized report can be shared with Parliament if requested.

On district cleaning, Minister Gumbs said the decision not to extend the contracts was based on the need to revise the scope of work and the Ministry’s ongoing financial challenges. He said adjustments are needed to bring district cleaning more in line with its original purpose. The Minister noted that district cleaning had been suspended before, including from December 2022 to March 2023, pending review.

The Minister also responded to questions about road repairs carried out between 2020 and April 2026. He listed several roads where work had been executed, including A.Th. Illidge Road, Madame Estate, Sucker Garden Road, Bush Road, Welfare Road, Airport Road, White Sands Road, Union Road, Longwall Road, Billy Folly Road, and others. He said the Ministry would provide the corresponding dates in writing once the information is fully verified.

Regarding road maintenance funding, Minister Gumbs clarified that it was not accurate to say there had been no structured road maintenance since 2024. He said the issue was that no new funding request had been made since the initial capital expenditure allocation. He explained that funding requested in 2023 was received in December 2023 and used in 2024. A new request for road capital expenditure was made in 2025, but was delayed due to the lack of a finalized and approved budget.

On the Ministry’s remaining capital expenditure balance for major road projects, Gumbs said the balance stood at approximately XCG 285,827 at the end of 2025. He said the Ministry is awaiting finalized invoices for works already executed in order to reconcile the budget and determine what remains available.

The Minister said he was not aware of a US $15 million investment specifically directed toward sewage house connections from the entrance of Guana Bay. He said the only known sewage investment in Guana Bay was connected to the construction of Hope Estate Phase 1 and Phase 2 in 2011.

Minister Gumbs also addressed questions about departmental revenue and performance. He said revenue challenges are not linked to a single cause, but to a combination of structural and operational issues, including outdated fee structures, manual and fragmented processes, capacity constraints, enforcement gaps and billing challenges. He said the Ministry is working on digitalization and automation to improve the permitting and domain processes, strengthen administrative efficiency and increase revenue capture.

On domain affairs, the Minister said an external firm has been engaged to help reduce backlogs and improve internal processes. He said work has also started on a land issuance policy and a land pricing policy to create clearer frameworks and improve consistency and accountability.

The Minister acknowledged the long-standing building permit backlog and said this had been publicly recognized when he took office in June 2024. He said the Ministry had requested funding to address the backlog, which has helped finalize and issue permits dating as far back as 2015. He also said VROMI is working with Government’s Documents and Information Center on a pilot project to digitize the permitting process.

On accountability, Minister Gumbs said the Ministry accepts responsibility for areas where performance has not met expectations. He said accountability must go beyond acknowledging shortcomings and must include corrective action, supported by the capacity and budget needed to execute improvements.

On garbage bins reportedly procured through another ministry, Gumbs said VROMI was not responsible for delays in distribution. He said the vendor had received the placement map from VROMI and was preparing concrete platforms for the bins before installation.

Regarding the landfill compactor, Minister Gumbs said the equipment experienced a hydraulic leak at the front end, which affected the brake system. He also said the compacting pegs on the wheels had deteriorated to the point that compaction was no longer effective.

The Minister confirmed that a budget amendment may be needed later in 2026 because of the six-month extension of the garbage collection arrangements and the shifted timeline for a new tender.

On the Emergency Debris Management Project, Gumbs said the NRPB and World Bank project is currently scheduled to end in December 2026. He said an in-principle agreement was reached in March to extend the Trust Fund solely for EDMP to 2033, subject to conditions. He noted that risks linked to EDMP include time, capacity and financing, and said the Ministry is working to mitigate these risks by increasing internal capacity and focusing on long-term waste solutions.

Minister Gumbs said the Waste Authority is expected to first be established as an interim structure within Government in 2026, with the intention of later transitioning to a structural independent authority. He said the revised draft National Waste Ordinance is under legal review and includes provisions for a Waste Authority, although the final legal form remains under discussion.

The Minister also confirmed that the issue of garbage not being covered at the landfill has been solved. He added that the continuation of EDMP to 2033 depends on conditions involving several ministries, including General Affairs, VSA, Finance and VROMI, and that responsibility does not rest solely with the Ministry of VROMI.

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