Contractors Association: Publish Piarco report

THE TT Contractors Association (TTCA) in a statement on Wednesday fully endorsed the recent call by Victor Hart, former member of the Commission of Enquiry into the 2002 Piarco Airport Terminal expansion, for the Government to release the commission’s report in its entirety.

"The constraints purported for the non-release of the report at that time are no longer valid. The TTCA assisted the commission through its representative on Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) who expended significant personnel sacrifice and resources towards its outcome.

The TTCA reckoned the disclosure of the report, its findings and recommendations could help curb the shortcomings identified in the project management of large public sector construction projects and strengthen public procurement, accountability, and transparency of public expenditure.

"The TTCA further again calls on the Government to fully operationalize the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act for which many of its promised deadlines have been missed." On April 5, Hart told Newsday he was awaiting a reply by the Prime Minister to his recent call for Dr Rowley to publish the report.

In a statement to media houses on March 28 when he had written to Rowley, Hart had declared, "Without any shadow of a doubt, I can confirm that the evidence presented to the enquiry was free of any political bias and that there was no political interference in the enquiry’s conduct or in the conclusions drawn by the commissioners and the recommendations we made.

"I say that without fear of contradiction and I totally reject the assertion about political persecution.”