CO129-350 - Public Offices - 1908 — Page 190

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF CONSULTING

ENGINEERS.

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1. The attention of the Crown Agents for the Colonics having been directed by the Secretary of State to the necessity of restricting expenditure to the amounts authorised, the Crown Agents think it desirable in order to avoid any possible misapprehension, to summarise for the information of the Consulting Engineers who advise them, the financial points to which attention should be more especially directed.

2. In the first place, it must be remembered that, although the Consulting Engineers have a discretion in the preparation of an estimate for which they are responsible, yet the amount when once sanctioned by the Secretary of State becomes binding and must not be exceeded without his further authority. Hence should it at any time during the progress of a work become apparent that an excess over the authorised expenditure is probable, it is the duty of the Engineers to bring the fact to the notice of the Crown Agents as early as possible, in order that the Secretary of State may be placed in a position to authorise the proposed further expenditure or to curtail the work.

3. If after the estimate is sanctioned, the Consulting Engineers are of opinion that any portion of the work should be constructed in a more expensive manner than that for which they originally provided, they should, before proceeding, furnish an estimate of the additional cost involved in the change, in order that the necessary funds may be applied for before the Colonial Government is committed to the expenditure.

4. It is of course necessary to include in the original estimate full provision for administration and Engineering, both in this country and in the Colony, as well as any other expenses of an indirect nature which are fairly chargeable against the vote for the work.

5. The essential point to be remembered is that the probability of an excess should whenever practicable be brought to notice while it is still possible for the Colonial Government or the Secretary of State to decide, with due regard to all the circumstances, whether the work should be curtailed or further funds provided.

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