Mahabirsingh reappointed TTCA president

Glenn Mahabirsingh has been re-elected for a second term as TT Contractors' Association president. The group held its annual general meeting on August 12 at the National Association of Administrative Professionals, Fitzblackman Drive, Woodbrook. All covid19 health protocols were observed, TTCA said in a statement.

Joining Mahabirsingh on the executive will be Rodney Cowan as vice president. Hugh Schamber, Dave Aqui, Ramlogan Roopnarinesingh, Deborah Costelloe, Thomas Chanona, Patries Ramkaran, Lisa Ramoutar and Nicholas MacLean are all directors.

"This new board looks forward to serving the nation's construction sector by using an innovative approach in the delivery of services to its members through the promotion of integrity, the pursuit of fair practices and policies, health and safety among its members through training and skill development, advocacy for greater local content and the further proclamation of procurement legislation and the provision of quality services to the construction sector," the organisation said.

In a brief interview with the Newsday on Monday, Mahabirsingh said last year was hectic for the organisation, with aggressive pushes for training. The association has also been actively lobbying for various causes, including successful clarification of the requirements for heavy-machinery licences under the OSH Act as well as a resolution of the red sand supply, with the quarry reopened a few weeks ago.

"We are still advocating for the complete proclamation of the procurement legislation, which we hope and wish could be resolved early in this new...Parliament. We also did a lot of work in getting the industry back following the lockdown (from March to June), including safe-to-work protocols for covid19, which have assisted workers on site."

For about ten weeks, until June 24, most of the construction sector was deemed non-essential and shut down as the country implemented restrictions on movement to mitigate the spread of covid19.

For the new year, Mahabirsingh said the association wants to continue supporting training, including on topics like tendering in anticipation of the procurement regulations, hopefully before the end of the year.

In terms of the overall industry, Mahabirsingh noted that a number of infrastructural and housing projects were awarded over the last three to six months, and with the re-election of the PNM administration, these are expected to continue and will encourage activity in the industry.

"We know the challenge is covid19, so we hope all the stakeholders will adhere to all protocols to allow the industry to continue and not shut down," he said.