Austrian contractor VAMED Engineering GmbH yesterday accused the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) of unlawfully seizing four company vehicles, describing the action as an escalation of its dispute with the government over two unfinished hospitals.
In a statement, VAMED said GRA representatives seized three trucks and a car on the afternoon of Saturday, November 7. All four vehicles were purchased by and registered in the company’s name, it said.
According to the statement, VAMED’s attorney Nigel Hughes asked the Customs Enforcement Officer conducting the seizure to identify the legal authority for the action and provide supporting documents.
Hughes said the officer neither identified the applicable law nor produced documentation establishing the legal basis for taking the vehicles. The officer was also unable to produce any prior notices or demands issued to VAMED concerning them, the statement said.
The company said Hughes informed the officer that the contractual dispute was before arbitrators under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Rules and cautioned against action that would interfere with their jurisdiction.
“This brazen seizure of VAMED’s private property marks a serious escalation in this dispute, and one that will not go uncontested,” the company’s institutional representative in Guyana, Dr João Pedro da Silva Teles, said.
Teles alleged that the action was intended to intimidate the company following its public criticism of the government’s handling of the hospital projects.
“The Guyanese people have a right to know how their government has managed public funds, why these critically important hospitals remain unfinished, and why promises to deliver better healthcare have gone unfulfilled,” he said.
VAMED said it intended to pursue available legal options in response to what it described as unjustified interference with its private property rights.
The statement did not identify the vehicles’ registration numbers or where they were seized. It also contained no explanation from the GRA for the action.
The seizure allegation follows VAMED’s renewed criticism last week of the Ministry of Health’s administration of the Paediatric and Maternal Hospital at Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara, and the New Amsterdam Hospital Campus.
The company had again alleged that withheld payments and delays in authorising the release of construction materials from the ports contributed to the projects remaining unfinished. VAMED said it remained willing to discuss their completion if outstanding contractual, financial and operational issues were addressed.
The two contracts were valued at a combined €299 million—€149 million for the maternal and paediatric hospital and €150 million for the New Amsterdam complex. President Irfaan Ali confirmed in August that both contracts were terminated on July 23 and ICC arbitration proceedings began on July 28.
VAMED has put its contractual claims at €45.53 million, including at least €19.15 million which it says represents certified payments. It has also alleged that the government allowed the British-backed financing arrangement for the maternal hospital to expire in November 2025.
The government has rejected the company’s account, citing delays, inadequate mobilisation and failure to meet contractual milestones. It has also disputed VAMED’s description of the claimed sums as uncontested debts, saying they remain subject to contractual valuation, rights of set-off and other unresolved issues.
The dispute has also been before the local courts. On September 22, the Full Court set aside orders requiring the preservation of the two construction sites and restricting interference with 52 containers and equipment at Goedverwagting.
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