THIS IS NOT THE CALDER HART INQUIRYBy Clint Chan Tack Wednesday, October 21 2009
In a strong counter-attack, Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert landed punches of his own in Parliament on Monday night as he defended the Government and Udecott chairman Calder Hart from PNM MP Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley’s verbal onslaught.
Imbert scoffed at Rowley’s claims that the ruling PNM would be brought down in a general election and insisted Government wants the findings of the Uff Commission of Inquiry into Udecott and the construction sector to be made public.
If it did not, the Government could have taken advantage of a legal loophole which could have derailed the inquiry when it was discovered that notice of the proceedings was never published in the Gazette even though hearings had gone on for months, Imbert told the House of Representatives.
“The things that are said by honourable members opposite. We need to counter them. I have heard many people on that side say today that we are not interested in this Commission of Inquiry. That we don’t want it. That the Prime Minister does not want the report to be published. It is necessary for members on this side to refute those baseless allegations!” Imbert fired back during debate on the Validation and Immunity from Proceedings Bill 2009.
In his counter-attack to Rowley’s earlier allegations that the “PNM was on trial” and his disclosures of bid-rigging in Udecott and multi-million dollar deals with the government of China and Chinese firms, Imbert said the Government was not playing games with the inquiry.
“We are here to save the work of the commission. If we did not want the proceedings of the Commission of Inquiry to be saved, if we did not want to get a report, we would not be here,” he declared. “Correct!” quipped Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who Rowley had challenged.
As Government MPs thumped their desks in support, Imbert declared, “We would have exploited the loophole in the law and just walked away quietly.”
In a pointed reference to Rowley, Imbert insisted: “From day one, we have never bowed to the cacophony of calls on the other side. Yes, it is necessary based on allegations made in this House to inquire into the procurement practices of Udecott. We consider it necessary to do so. The Prime Minister announced that.”
However, he reminded MPs that Government considered it was necessary to inquire into other aspects of the local construction industry and this was why the commission’s terms of reference were expanded. “This is not the Calder Hart inquiry,” he added.
Reiterating Government’s view that a cartel exists in the local construction industry, Imbert said Government got value for money when it entered into an agreement with the People’s Republic of China for the Shanghai Construction Group to build the Port-of-Spain (PoS) and San Fernando Academies of the Performing Arts at a cost of US$100 million (TT$630 million). Having toured the PoS Academy, Imbert said hotel accommodations were always part of the original design.
Prompted by Manning, Imbert said the cost given to the Government by a local contractor to build the PoS Academy was close to $800 million. Describing the design of that structure as “an inferior design for something resembling a junior secondary school,” Imbert said the PoS Academy alone would have cost $1.6 billion and taken ten years to build. With Government expected to spend at least $50 billion in public infrastructure in the coming years, Imbert said the commission’s work was vital to ensure value for money on these projects and “cutting out the cartel in the construction industry.”
Referring to Rowley’s comments about the gazetting of the inquiry, Imbert said this issue was being looked at since August when Israel Khan SC resigned from the commission.
Ignoring taunts from the Opposition, Imbert said chairman Professor John Uff and the remaining commissioners Desmond Thornhill and Kenneth Sirju were trying to determine the quorum needed for the commission to continue to function. Imbert explained the original instruments of appointment for the commission, which should have been published in September 2008, indicated that the quorum was two persons.
He said while doing their research after Khan’s departure, the commissioners began to look into the question of gazetting the commission. When it was discovered that the commission had not been gazetted, Imbert said Information Minister Neil Parsanlal consulted with the Government Printery to find out whether this was in fact so. “Eventually it was confirmed it was not gazetted. So immediately the Government had to look at this and come up with a solution,” Imbert stated.
He said Government looked to see whether Section 42 of the Interpretation Act “could save the Act.” Imbert said while some lawyers believed this would work, it was later determined that “ if contrary intention occurs in the legislation then the Act does not apply.”
Under these circumstances, the minister said a validation bill was the only way to save the work of the commission.
On Rowley’s contention that the Udecott scandal was ten times worse than the Piarco Airport and John O’Halloran corruption cases and would be the PNM’s main weakness in the next election, Imbert said: “I believe that the next election will be about many other things. I’m afraid I do not subscribe the same importance to Udecott that honourable members opposite do. I certainly doubt it will be about that.”
As PNM MPs pounded their desks, Imbert declared the next election will be about “who is fit to run this country, who has the moral authority to run this country, who is the best party to run this country, who is best equipped to serve the people of this country.”
Imbert said Hart has not been charged with any crime and is “innocent until proven guilty.” Noting that Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday still has legal matters before the courts, Imbert said the same principle applies to him.
Reminding Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj that he “walked out” of the former government after it refused to investigate allegations of corruption, Imbert said: “In the Piarco Airport Development Project, persons have admitted to fraud, made plea bargains and are serving jail time in the United States.”
Stating that he would never deny anyone their constitutional rights to defend themselves against unfair attacks, Imbert told Opposition MPs: “Today it is Calder Hart. Tomorrow it’s you.”
