Trinidad and Tobago
In a disclosure during T&T’s 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review last Wednesday, Attorney General John Jeremie revealed a $200 million “black hole” in legal fees within his ministry—a revelation that has ignited concerns over fiscal discipline, procurement practices and the broader culture of accountability in public finance.
Jeremie alleged that a significant portion of these fees were paid to individuals closely associated with the former prime minister, including golfing partners, before the last general election.
He emphasised that many of these payments were made without clear evidence of value received, and he has since halted the acceptance of new invoices.
With taxpayers now footing the bill, the issue raises questions about transparency and whether the public is receiving value for money.
Stakeholders including former head of Trinidad and Tobago’s Office of Procurement Regulation (OPR), Moonilal Lalchan told the Business Guardian that people may start to question whether their taxes are being put to good use, noting that this could also erode trust in public institutions.
“…It lends to no accountability, I would say, in a nutshell…No accountability could also mean corruption… It could lead to a lot of practices that are not acceptable in terms of best practice and so on, which by virtue of the looseness of the situation could lead to corruption or collusion, more or less,” Lalchan said.
He pointed to the fact that Section 7 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, excluded legal services meaning it is not under full scrutiny, among other services.
Stating that the the matter of the “black hole” was brought to the fore by the Attorney General, Lalchan said the AG should therefore, if he is concerned, deal with it with a level of alacrity.
Meanwhile, Afra Raymond, former president of the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC), said he is not at all inspired by the disclosure of “this or that legal fee etc,” as he emphasised that what is need is a clear position from the UNC on the repeal of those “damaging” exemptions from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act (PPDPPA).
He said these must now be repealed so that the public interest could be well-served by independent oversight by the OPR, as intended when the People’s Partnership (PP), of which the current ruling United National Congress was part, passed the parent legislation – Act No 1 of 2015.
If the UNC means to do better, it has to do differently, Raymond added.
“I am referring to the fact that on Friday December 4, 2020 our Parliament passed the third set of amendments to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act (The Act). These changes were a serious blow to the long-term campaign for proper control over transactions in public money and are extremely detrimental to the public interest.
“Legal and accounting/auditing services are essential to govern transactions in public money as required by the Act, so how does one justify excluding those from OPR oversight?,” Raymond said.
He further explained that the removal of legal, accounting/auditing, medical fees and financial services from OPR oversight was risible when one considers the strong and repeated statements as to concerns over the alleged legal fees scandals.
Raymond also noted that in the “bad-old-days” of the previous PNM administration then Attorney General (AG), Faris Al Rawi, was “making a meal of the serious allegations of massive legal fees fraud against former PP AG Ananad Ramlogan SC and Gerald Ramdeen – the sum allegedly mis-appropriated was in the $1.0 billion region…at the very same time, the then Finance Minister, Colm Imbert, was exempting expenditure on legal fees from the oversight of the Office of Procurement Regulation (OPR). Literally incredible, but that is what really happened in this country.”
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Dominican Republic
THE government of the Dominican Republic has launched an international tender for the first phase of a new monorail line in Santo Domingo. The project is designed to ease congestion and expand capacity in the capital’s rapidly growing public transport network.
The tender, published by the Trust for the Development of the Dominican Republic’s Mass Tranpsort System (Fitram), covers engineering design, civil works, and related systems for a 10.5km line with 12 stations. Bids are due by October 23. Fitram will oversee procurement, construction and delivery of the new line.
Alignment
The first phase will run from Charles de Gaulle Avenue at the King Juan Carlos Bridge in Santo Domingo East to the Olympic Centre in the National District, providing interchange with metro lines 1 and 2. According to Fitram, the new line will serve a catchment area of more than 1 million residents and is forecast to carry 306,000 passengers daily, with an initial peak capacity of 12,500 passengers per hour per direction.
The line will initially operate with four-car trains with capacity for 562 passengers, allowing the system to carry up to 22,480 passengers per hour per direction at 90-second headways. Infrastructure is designed accommodate six-car trains in the future, increasing capacity to 34,160 passengers per hour per direction.
Future phases will extend the monorail west to Pintura, where it will connect with cable car Line 3, and to the Duarte Highway, providing an interchange with metro Line 2C at Los Alcarrizos. Together with the city’s metro and cable car lines, the monorail will form a core element of the Santo Domingo Integrated Transport System (SIT-SD), aimed at shifting over one million trips from private vehicles to public transport.
Santiago monorail
Construction of the Dominican Republic’s first monorail project, in Santiago de los Caballeros, is due for completion at the end of this year. The 13km fully automated line, which will have 14 stations, will connect the northwest and southeast areas of the city, with a fleet of 13 four-car Innovia 300 trains manufactured by Alstom in Canada.
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Trinidad and Tobago
Chief Secretary Farley Augustine says it is up to the Office of the Procurement Regulator, not the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). to determine whether the Tobago Rehional Health Authority (TRHA) followed proper procedure in acquiring new ambulances.
During his contribution to the THA budget debate, Augustine condemned the minority council’s pressure over the procurement.
“The member opposite and his friends have made very heavy weather, about some ambulances on the island and I want to address that before I close, because many people don’t understand how the procurement system works,” Augustine said.
He confirmed that the THA has referred the documents for external review.
“The instruction went to the TRHA since that time to send all of the procurement documents to the office of the procurement regulator. Let the office of the procurement regulator make a determination as to whether the procurement process was good or bad,” he said.
Augustine said executive members have no influence over procurement decisions.
“We don’t have any say in procurement. You know, we have no say whatsoever.
“Only a named procurement officer and the accounting officer for the division have a say and if, as an executive, we say, ‘Go buy five bales of toilet paper,’ they could just go out and buy the cheapest.
“We can’t go and tell the procurement people we don’t want this cheap brand, that is not efficient, buy this brand, it’s better.”
“We could send them the scope they tender, and then we on the back end must blindly hope that what they in fact tendered for and what they have in fact procured meets the needs that we have for the people of the island, and hope to God that they align,” he said.
The ambulance controversy surrounds a 2023 contract for 12 new ambulances that cost over $16 million. Only four vehicles have been delivered so far.
There were concerns about their condition and efficiency when they arrived. Soon after going into service one of them reportedly failed to climb a hill, raising serious questions about whether the ambulances are suitable for Tobago’s terrain.
The matter has drawn sharp criticism. Minority Leader Kelvon Morris has written to the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau, former acting Police Commissioner Junior Benjamin and the procurement regulator calling for a criminal probe.
IDA political leader Dr Denise Tsoiafatt-Angus has also demanded answers, saying the issue should be referred to the Integrity Commission and the Fraud Squad.
She also called for a full audit of all contracts awarded by the THA from 2021 to now.
At a press conference last month the RHA denied all allegations of wrongdoing saying if the ambulance doesn’t meet the needs to the people, the island can recover its money.
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Caribbean
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission joined Grenada, Saint Lucia and Guyana, the World Bank and the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) for the kickoff meeting to formally launch the Caribbean Efficient and Green Energy Buildings Project — termed the CEGEB project — a transformative regional initiative designed to accelerate the adoption of sustainable energy solutions and energy-efficient practices across public buildings in the participating countries.
The five-year project funded by the World Bank to the tune of US$131.8 million (approximately EC$356.2 million) represents a combination of grants and loans that will allow governments to demonstrate leadership in sustainable energy and the associated benefits. Under the project, close to 500 buildings will be retrofitted with energy efficiency measures and an estimated 50,670 kWp (kilowatt-peak) of solar photovoltaics is anticipated to be installed.
The CEGEB project also builds on the OECS Commission’s strong track record in pooled procurement, which for over 30 years has enabled Member States to access critical pharmaceutical drugs and medical supplies more efficiently and cost-effectively through a collaborative approach. By extending this model to the sustainable energy sector, the OECS Commission aims to leverage an aggregated demand to provide economies of scale, resulting in more affordable sustainable energy solutions for the region. This approach is also expected to stimulate the development of a regional market for energy-efficient technologies, create local green jobs, and strengthen the capacity of public and private stakeholders to manage and maintain green energy solutions.
Judith Ephraim-Schmidt, Programme Director, Sustainable Energy, of the OECS Commission, stated:
“Caribbean Green Buildings signals a new era of collaboration and innovation in the OECS for advancing our sustainable energy transition. By combining our sustainable energy expertise with the efficiencies of pooled procurement, we are delivering real solutions that will make our public buildings greener, our economies stronger, and our communities more resilient at a reduced cost.”
The Caribbean Green Buildings initiative marks a significant milestone in the OECS’ ongoing commitment to sustainable development as it embarks on the 2025-2035 Decade of Action for Sustainable Energy Development in the OECS. By strategically uniting the expertise of the OECS Sustainable Energy Unit with the proven success of the OECS pooled procurement mechanism, the OECS Commission is poised to deliver tangible benefits to citizens across the region. This innovative approach not only facilitates economies of scale and reduces technology costs but also sets new benchmarks and standards for energy efficiency and distributed renewable energy (DRE) deployment in public buildings. The CCREEE will also provide energy regulatory support for enhanced implementation of the project.
The retrofitted buildings and processes under the project will serve as best-practice models, demonstrating how coordinated regional action can reduce government energy costs, free up resources for other development priorities, and deliver visible environmental and economic benefits for OECS citizens.
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Jamaica
The Integrity Commission’s Director of Investigations has recommended that disciplinary proceedings be taken against former Executive Director of National Education Trust (NET), Marcia Phillips Dawkins, for allegedly acting contrary to the entity’s procurement procedures and the Public Procurement Act and its regulations.
Kevon Stephenson noted that while Mrs. Phillips Dawkins is no longer employed to NET, she remains in the employ of the Ministry of Education.
The findings of the IC’s investigation report concerning allegations of impropriety and procurement irregularities at the NET were tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The allegations are that the former Executive Director of National Education Trust sent a request for quotation to a supplier bearing the procurement manager’s signature without her knowledge or consent.
At the conclusion of his investigation, which started on April 14, 2022, the Director of Investigations determined that the use of the procurement manager’s signature was inappropriate, unethical and misleading.
Mr. Stephenson also concluded that it is irregular in this jurisdiction for the head of the entity to personally prepare and issue procurement solicitation documents when there is competent staff hired for those purposes.
Additionally, he said the inherent risks in the head of entity initiating and personally conducting a procurement exercise and ultimately giving final approval cannot be disregarded.
Mr. Stephenson said he considered the explanation by Mrs. Phillips Dawkins as to the urgency placed on the undertaking in question.
In refuting the allegations by way of a letter sent to the Integrity Commission, dated June 11, 2025, the former NET Executive Director denied that she conducted a fraudulent transaction, adding that the request for proposal was done transparently, as all documents were copied to the NET procurement and project managers and the acting permanent secretary in the Education Ministry.
Mrs. Phillips Dawkins noted that the moment an error in the document was identified, she instructed that it be withdrawn and the process be taken over by the procurement manager and her team.
In relation to the allegations of breach of procurement, Mrs. Phillips Dawkins said she decided to assist in the procurement process for the project as final approval would have come from the acting permanent secretary.
She commented that it was surprising and unfortunate that only one side of the issue was considered and represented by the Integrity Commission in its investigation and that the NET Board did not give her an opportunity to defend herself against the allegations before she was sent on precautionary leave with full pay in November 2021.
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