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Ancil Dennis –
PNM Tobago Council leader and former chief secretary Ancil Dennis has challenged THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine to name the roads that contractors were paid to repair but no work was done.
Dennis was responding to allegations made in a preliminary audit report laid by Augustine during the ninth sitting of the 2021-2025 session at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex on Thursday.
The report claimed that, in some instances, there were full payments for no work, unsigned contracts, and inflated costs in the road resurfacing programme, by the previous PNM administration, between October 1, 2019 and November 30, 2021.
At a media conference on Friday, Dennis said: “In terms of the projects that it was alleged were paid for and not completed, that to me is very difficult to believe and I want to challenge the chief secretary to name the projects – tell the people of Tobago.
“That is why I said the audit statement was vague…I find that very difficult to believe, with all the checks and balances. Again, the politician is not responsible for engaging in payments and the validation of projects and issuing completion certificates, but I would hope and believe that, based on the democracy and the bureaucracy that we have and based on all the existing checks and balances, it should be very difficult to almost impossible to pay for a whole road that was never done. I find that a bit difficult to accept.”
He said interestingly, this audit statement targeted contractors and senior public servants.
“I hold no brief for any one of them – of course if/when the audit is completed, elements of wrongdoing is found, then let the chips fall where they may. Let the Chief Secretary and others do what is necessary to ensure that the facts and the truth is revealed to the population.”
He said he always prioritised Tobago-based contractors. He said within the Tobago space, when it comes to road paving, “there are several qualified, competent and experienced contractors who have been engaged in road paving for many, many years.”
He expressed confidence that the procurement process “is one that can withstand legal and public scrutiny.”
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Switching from defence to attack, Dennis produced documents and accused Augustine of hypocrisy. He claimed the PDP administration had approved $309 million to Trinidad contractors in one month for infrastructural works in Tobago.
“Several months ago, the chief secretary accused my executive council, the former executive council, of being reckless by spending $300 million over a period of six months. In reality, it was over of two years.
“But here we have, under the guise of an emergency, to create roads in time for carnival for people to play mas – $309 million in contracts have either being already approved or some are in the process of being approved by this executive council to give contracts to certain contractors in just one month.”
He said Augustine and the “PDP administration sold the people of Tobago a mandate on a platform that involved putting Tobago first, and therefore I want to ask the question: in circumstances where the capacity and the capability resides on the island of Tobago, under what circumstances was $309 million sole selected?
“No tendering process – and this is the same chief secretary who criticised the previous administration for engaging in sole selection awards in emergency circumstances.”