by CHRIS GOLLOP

DOZENS MORE CONTRACTORS are under investigation and may face the axe as the Urban Development Commission (UDC) prepares to launch a new crackdown on substandard work.

Just two months into the new job as director of the Government agency, UDC boss George Edghill told the SUNDAY SUN he was shocked at the quality of work done by some of the contractors, and that immediate steps were being taken to remove them from the current list.

"The quality of the work many of them are doing is simply substandard. Many of them do not complete the jobs; others leave the places really untidy with strips of galvanise, debris, old wood and nails at the job sites; some are taking short-cuts. I mean some of these contractors would not even be hired in a storm. Their work is downright shoddy," Edghill said.

What also concerned the UDC boss was that many of the contractors were giving the UDC a bad name, not only because of the manner in which they went about their work, but because they were crediting from suppliers by claiming the UDC had not paid them.

Holding up a sheet of paper with three contractors who had recently credited material from a building supplier, he said: "This is not right. We pay contractors at every stage of the work. All of this is being investigated."

Already, he said legal letters had been sent out to a number of them and others would go out soon as the UDC moves to recoup the money that had been advanced to contractors who had failed to complete their jobs.

"First, we have to determine the value of the work and material used and quantify that against the money advanced to them. We have already completed this stage with some of the projects and have written those contractors, but the process is continuing."

Earlier this year, more than 300 contractors were removed from the UDC list because they were deemed unprofessional. Today, there are 231 contractors on that list of which under 100 are active. From that 231, 20 face immediate notice, while others are on the chopping block.

In response to a query of if this was being done for political reasons, he responded: "This is nothing political. Over the past few weeks, I took it upon myself to tour work sites across the 15 constituencies that fall under the UDC ambit and witnessed for myself what was taking place.

"Whether you are a Bee or a Dee and you need help and are unable to assist yourself, the UDC must step up to the plate.

"I have written the contractors setting out new directives and have called a meeting for Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Grand Salle, Central Bank, with all the contractors to discuss how the UDC will be doing business with them in the future," he said.