Saddam Hosein: Contracts sharing during elections

BARATARIA/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein has claimed the passage of amendments to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act will allow Government to award contracts without oversight to help them win the August 14 local government elections.

He made this claim during his contribution to debate on the bill in the House on Wednesday.

Supporting an earlier contribution by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Hosein said the new law will allow contracts under $1 million to avoid scrutiny by the Office of Procurement Regulation (OPR).

"These contracts will not be subject to the OPR.

"We will not engage in their (government) illegal acts."

Hosein predicted that once this law is passed, "left, right and centre, contract passing."

He disagreed with previous statements by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Colm Imbert that the bill was needed to correct flaws in the procurement act.

Hosein said the act caters for situations when funding is needed to deal with unforeseen circumstances.

"There is law for emergencies. Don't come here and say that you had to wait 20 days to fix a water pipeline."

Hosein reiterated the UNC's claims that the PNM did not want proper procurement legislation because it was opposed to transparency."

He also said to date, no one has any idea what money was spent on, with respect to legal notices 206 and 164. Notice 206 dealt with exemptions for the Caricom heads of government meeting in Port of Spain from July 3-5.

Legal notice 164 dealt with exemptions from the act for the Judiciary.

Hosein said, "We don't need this procurement bill again. The Government will do as they like."

Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland described Hosein's contribution as empty.

"They (UNC) sit down and do nothing. Nothing from nothing leaves nothing."

He rejected Hosein's claim that Government was trying to kill the act.

Scotland said apart from three amendments being proposed by the Government, "The rest of the bill remains intact."

He dismissed claims from Hosein about contracts under $1 million benefiting PNM financiers. Scotland countered that the UNC was concerned about contracts over $1 million being scrutinised by the OPR.

He claimed this was the business that Super Industrial Services (SIS) was involved in when the UNC-led People's Partnership (PP) coalition government was in office.

Scotland said some of people involved in that company left TT for Panama after the PP demitted office in September 2015.

While Scotland was speaking, Deputy Speaker Esmond Forde ordered Chaguanas West MP Dinesh Rambally to leave the Parliament Chamber when his cellphone rang.

Scotland opined that Rambally might have been "receiving a call from Panama."

He also said the amendments being proposed by Government will help small and medium-sized businesses to procure goods and services on a level playing field with their larger competitors.

Scotland said unlike the UNC, the PNM will pass laws in the middle of the day and not "in the middle of the night."

He also said that what he described as a UNC protest outside of Parliament before the sitting began at 1.30 pm had waned and evaporated as the debate continued.

"They clear out. All the Royal Castle (chicken) done."