By Sue-Ann Wayow
PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley must fully account in Parliament and not on a political platform, the full cost of the decision to terminate the contract with Brazilian company OAS Construtoro.
Member of Parliament for Oropouche East Dr Roodal Moonilal in a statement on Thursday said that Government must reveal the legal and other professional fees taxpayers are shelling out in addition to the $852 million costs in the OAS Construtoro wrongful termination matter.
Dr Moonilal said, “In addition, if Prime Minister Rowley is committed to good governance and proper use of the taxpayers’ purse, he must fire the incompetent Fitzgerald Hinds, who was Minister of Works when the Government embarked on the legal misadventure.”
The 305-page ruling by the London Arbitration Council has found the Government guilty of breaching the legal contract with OAS Constructoro for the extension of the Solomon Hochoy Highway.
Dr Moonilal said, “The ruling is available for public scrutiny in spite of the blatant attempt by the Government to cover up the facts and to peddle a fraudulent account. The tribunal’s ruling is revealing because it is a clinical depiction of the Rowley Government’s vengefulness and poor judgment, all in the name of partisan politics.”
He said, “The PNM Government illegally scrapped the contract only because it was initiated by the prior administration of Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Rowley’s attempt to provide an alternative narrative which took place on a PNM platform and only after my disclosures in Parliament was a deceitful attempt at being cunning with the facts.”
Dr Rowley at a political meeting in Arima on Tuesday called for an investigation into the entire matter saying that the contract was changed days before the 2015 general elections to favour OAS.
“I want the Commissioner of Police to go into NIDCO and the Minister responsible for NIDCO, the Minister of Works and Transport, he is hereby instructed to instruct NIDCO to cooperate with the police officers so the country can determine under whose hand and under whose direction this travesty took place. You could imagine what we could do with $852 million that belonged to us, that they gave away for love and affection of the contractor?” he said.
