The weeks pass and bring their share of revelations. So here is once again the Gopee, which fuel the controversy. Pybig Construction Ltd is suing Nundun Gopee Co. Ltd for non-payment of Rs 40 million …
After Father Nundun Gopee, spoiled by MSM, so is son Avinash Gopee (aka Vinash). He obtained numerous public contracts in the large construction site that Mauritius has become … And among these, the National Housing Development Co. Ltd (NHDC) which had awarded him, in 2015, a contract for the construction of 73 houses. in Petit-Bel-Air for the sum of Rs 88 million (M). Now, Nundun Gopee Co. Ltd has, in turn, subcontracted almost all the work to Pybig Construction Ltd for Rs 76 M. But at the end of the work, Avinash Gopee, who now runs the family business which has kept the father’s name, owes Rs 40 M to the subcontractor. In a complaint drafted by lawyer Gautam Ramdoyal and served in February, Pybig Construction Ltd claims its Rs 40 M owed plus Rs 5 M in damages.
In the complaint, we also learn that Nundun Gopee Co. Ltd would in the end have obtained Rs 110 million from the NHDC, the surplus representing the “variations”. But the entrepreneur would only have paid Rs 36 million to Pybig and pocketed the rest. Without doing almost anything. Even if he had honored the subcontract with Pybig, Gopee would have cashed Rs 34m in profit without giving the slightest blow. But he preferred to increase his margin by depriving the main subcontractor of Rs 40 M.
The question arises: Does a public company like the NHDC have the right to award a contract to a builder who has subcontracted all the work to subcontractors? To that, we are told that it is legal. Why did the NHDC not award the contract directly to the main subcontractor thus saving at least Rs 34 M? Answer: The subcontractor did not participate in the tender because he is not qualified on paper. While Nundun Gopee Co. Ltd. is fine. Despite having had the work carried out by an ineligible contractor! Funny procedures! How could a contract of Rs 88 m be awarded to a contractor who has undertaken nothing except administrative and other procedures? And get paid?
However, the NHDC has checked the constructions well and, it seems, is happy with it and has paid Rs 110 million rupees to Nundun Gopee Co. Ltd. However, the latter found several excuses, on numerous occasions, to refuse to pay Pybig.
When contacted, Vinash Gopee does not want to comment on the matter, telling us that it is another person whose name he has not given us who is dealing with it. According to our information, however, it was he who was in the driver’s seat and who dealt with Pybig Construction Ltd. The complaint also reports delays in the payment of these Rs 36 M on the part of Nundun Gopee Co. Ltd. “We have to run after him to get our money. He is always late in paying. ”
According to a reliable source, Pybig Construction Ltd is not the only one chasing Avinash Gopee to collect its due. Other subcontractors would also be. Except that they made no contract with Gopee, although Pybig Ltd was able to get them to sign an outsourcing contract anyway.
For lack of parliamentary questions and answers …
How can a bad payer remain on the list of companies eligible to obtain public contracts? Osman Mahomed, Labor MP and former NHDC director, also wondered: “Is it normal that an NHDC contractor can subcontract an entire project like this?” But it all depends on the contract between the NHDC and the contractor. ” Has the NHDC approved this subcontracting in toto? he wonders again. “If so, does such approval not prejudice the other contractors who had responded to the call for tenders but who did not obtain the contract, especially if such provisions were not part of the contract? ? Do the conditions contained in the contracts imposed by the NHDC obey the regulations of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers?
When asked about this, the NHDC has not confirmed to us whether the contract was awarded to Nundun Gopee Co. Ltd. after a tender, or whether it is aware that Nundun Gopee does not pay its subcontractors.
For those who have not followed the Gopee ‘saga’, Vinash Gopee, son of Nundun Gopee, has obtained hundreds of millions from the Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC) and the SBM, public contracts galore and land of the State, not to mention the Geometric Steps. This businessman and entrepreneur is indeed well regarded by the authorities. Land has even been transferred from Mauritius Post and another institution to Vinash Gopee.