Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago: The Opposition Member of Parliament, Davendranath Tancoo, spoke about the alleged corruption in the Ministry of National Security of Trinidad and Tobago.
He claimed that 5 billion dollars was awarded in government contracts to businesses that did not go through the entire competitive procurement process, according to the First Annual Report of the Office Procurement Regulation.
Tancoo stated that the protective services under the ministry had been stifled because of corruption.
According to the information, the OPR report highlighted concerns about the excessive use of limited and noncompetitive procurement methods despite the new regime promoting open bidding.
The Opposition MP mentioned that the procurement regulator, Beverly Khan, received whistleblower reports of illegal activities, including corruption and bid rigging.
Tancoo also accused the Ministry of National Security of failing to provide contract listings and properly account for billions spent without following proper procurement procedures.
He questioned, “Today we have a fire service with 2000 active firemen having to share ten breathing apparatuses amongst themselves in the case of a fire, so 200 men have to use one breathing apparatus. So what will happen in a fire? Think of the idiocracy of this situation and the danger to the fire officers. What is going to happen?”
Tancoo noted that there were ministers of national security, which he said was twice the level of incompetence running in the Ministry of National Security. He said that the TPS is short staffed and lacking vehicles, bulletproof vests, computers and basic stationary in the stations.
“The prison service is similarly compromised because they too are severely underfunded. Our Coast Guard has been crippled by the absence of working vessels. Just look at what happened in Tobago recently, in February this year,” he claimed.
Not only this, but the MP also said that the Gulf Stream vessel, which mysteriously appeared on the island’s shores, was able to infiltrate the country’s territorial waters due to unknown circumstances resulting in the oil spill.
He slammed the government over the development and highlighted, “Seven months later, we still have no answers from this government, even as a shootout reportedly occurred on the rec a few weeks ago.”
He also recalled the incident where a boat with 14 dead bodies was found floating off the coast of Bell Garden, noting that it was only discovered when it reached Tobago shores.
He said that the nation’s borders were porous and blamed the Ministry of National Security for not doing its job, while the PNM government facilitates billions in contracts being given to their friends, family, and financiers.
Davendranath Tancoo continued to emphasise, “Our national security has been deliberately starved of resources and totally compromised the very system which is supposed to protect you taxpaying citizens of this country.”
He accused the incumbent PNM government of greed, claiming the country’s controlled by white-collar criminals, and questioned whether the Ministry of National Security is concealing its awarded contracts while protective services suffer from a lack of funding, asking where the money has gone.
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Trinidad and Tobago
THE Office of the Procurement Regulator (OPR) has said that a response from The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) is warranted over the “serious issues” with respect to the tendering process for the Santa Rosa housing project, which required further ventilation during the challenge proceedings.
In a document posted on its website dated August 22, the OPR explained its order, dated August 16, from the hearing panel to suspend the procurement proceedings for the project effective August 16, until the hearing and determination of the challenge proceeding or until further ordered.
NH International (Caribbean) Ltd had submitted an application to the OPR to review the tendering process, as it claimed there was need for an investigation into HDC’s proposed move to award China Harbour Engineering Company (T&T) Ltd the contract with their bid of $475.8 million.
NH International (Caribbean) Ltd had submitted a bid for $259.6 million. Other companies had also submitted lower bids.
On August 16, the HDC stated that it had cancelled the procurement process for the Santa Rosa Housing project.
The move came after requests were made by two companies to the OPR for an investigation.
HDC’s managing director Jayselle McFarlane issued a letter on August 16 informing proponents that the procurement process, which started in January this year, had been cancelled because the HDC decided not to proceed with the project at this time.
The letter, dated August 16, stated as follows:
No explanations
“Notice is hereby given pursuant to Part C paragraph VIII of the RFP for the Provision of Design Build Services at the HDC’s Santa Rosa Housing Development Project Package 1 and Section 33 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, 2015 (as amended) that the Trinidad and Tobago Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has decided to cancel the procurement process initiated by the RFP dated 26 January 2024 including the Notice of Intention to Award dated 30 July 2024 for the reason that the HDC has taken a decision not to proceed with the project at this time.”
No explanations were given for why the HDC took this decision, which came days after it had issued a release defending the process and stating that technical independent experts were utilised
According to the document on the OPR’s website, on this same day, August 16, the hearing panel, composed of chairman Tracey Rojas and members Herdis Lee Chee and David Charlerie, ordered that the tendering process for the project be suspended, pending the OPR’s review.
In the document, the panel asked whether there were a serious issue to be tried, and noted that they considered the stated facts, the grounds for review, as well as the supporting documents provided by the applicant (NH International) which included the technical evaluation report for both the applicant and the successful proponent (Chinese company).
The panel stated that it gave significant consideration to the technical evaluation report for the successful proponent.
They noted that the Request for Proposal (“RFP”), dated January 26, at page 9 advised proponents that in the evaluation of the Technical Proposal, “Proponents must achieve no less than the minimum score for each section of the proposal”.
“Upon review of the technical evaluation reports for the successful proponent, it appears that the successful proponent did not receive at least the minimum score for all technical sections. The importance of achieving at least the minimum score for all technical sections was further amplified by the fact that proponents were advised in the RFP that ‘where the proponent has successfully achieved or surpassed the sectional and overall minimum scores, the commercial proposal may now be evaluated’. It thus raises the question of whether the successful proponent met the technical requirements which was (sic) necessary to progress to evaluation of its commercial proposal,” stated the panel.
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Guyana
Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo stated that the government is actively working to explain the rules and encourage full compliance with the Procurement Act nationwide.
“I’m not saying that there are no problems with the procurement system. You’ve heard us many times speak about this; about corruption in some areas,” Jagdeo said during his weekly press briefing on Thursday at Freedom House in Georgetown.
In response, he explained that the government has recently launched a countrywide discussion on the issue. Alongside Finance Minister Ashni Singh, he visited Essequibo, Berbice, and various other locations to speak with contractors and regional authorities, “laying the rules out.”
He also highlighted that training has been conducted in some regions. “We’ve identified several companies that are linked to public officials and we made it clear that since they hold these positions, they cannot bid in their own name. However, we can’t take away the right to work from their families too, as long as it has nothing to do with their ministry.”
Jagdeo noted that the procurement system has been significantly tightened.
He added that there are now over 2,000 contractors who have started under the People’s Progressive Party, with approximately 500-600 of these being Afro-Guyanese companies that did not exist when the A Partnership for National Unity was in power.
He criticized critics for failing to acknowledge the alleged corrupt practices of the previous administration, including the suspension of tendering processes for contracts.
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Jamaica
The Integrity Commission has found that a construction company linked to then-permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Colette Roberts Risden, incurred a cost overrun of more than $23 million for works done at the Ministry in 2019.
The 75-page investigative report, tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, found that a $37.18 million contract was awarded to Nubian 1 Construction through direct contracting on March 15, 2019 for emergency repairs of capping of double TBeams and painting of building.
But, the company incurred a cost overrun of $18.64 million for additional works in relation to the contract for the repair works.
A subsequent contract valuing $10.14 million was also awarded to Nubian 1 Construction on April 23, 2019 using the limited tender procurement methodology for renovations of executive suites. This project had a variation of $4.97 million.
According to the report, the cost variation was as a result of additional works required to enhance layout, functionality and public spaces such as the outer bathrooms, corridor leading to executive office and elevator areas that were not part of the original scope.
Director of Investigation Kevon Stephenson concluded that the failure on the part of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to obtain the requisite National Contracts Commission endorsement prior to the start of the ‘variation’ works, breached Section 1.5.3 of the Government of Jamaica Handbook of Public Sector Procurement Procedures.
Mr. Stephenson also concluded that the invitation of only three bidders in respect of the ministry’s use of the limited tender procurement methodology was contrary to the provisions outlined in the Ministry of Finance and Public Service Circular number 27 of 2016.
The Integrity Commission said it began investigations after it received allegations in August 2019 that all procurement done by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security since 2016 were by way of direct contracting or limited tender.
But, these claims were unsubstantiated.
The complaint also alleged that Nubian 1 Construction was a “favourite” of the ministry; again the commission found no evidence to support this.
Conflict of interest?
In the meantime, it was disclosed that the principal of Nubian 1 Construction, is the cousin of the former permanent secretary Colette Roberts Risden’s husband.
Director of Investigation Kevon Stephenson concluded that the familial link raised significant conflict of interest concerns.
But, in a written submission to the commission, the former permanent secretary said she was initially unaware of the connection of the principal of the company to her.
She said she became aware of Wayne Gadishaw, whom she knew as Ludwig Gadishaw, at the time the contract was presented to her for signing.
Mrs. Roberts Risden said this information was shared with the ministry’s former director of administration. However, she could not recall the date the disclosure was made.
She also noted that a contractor being a relative of her husband should not be the main factor considered to determine that there exists a conflict of interest.
The Director of Investigation recommended to the Cabinet Secretary and Chief Public Procurement Policy Officer that there be clear rules governing the procedure to be followed where an accounting officer who is conflicted is a Permanent Secretary.
A copy of the report is to also be referred to the Office of the Services Commission for consideration.
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United States Virgin Islands
ST. CROIX — Dozens of local and foreign contractors attended a mandatory pre-bid conference call in May when the V.I. Office of Disaster Recovery issued 39 bids under the EnVIsion Tomorrow program, the Virgin Islands government-led program meant to repair storm-hit homes following 2017’s hurricanes Irma and Maria. During the call, ODR Director Adrienne Williams-Octalien acknowledged the program’s lackluster payment history.
“I know this program has had many issues in the past with payments, with overall processing, and we are attempting to streamline this process and get the resources out,” she said at the outset of that call. “But we also want to make sure that we get good pricing, and that our contractors understand the program, and that they are also able to move, navigate and have a successful experience with these federal dollars” from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department, commonly referred to as HUD, and administered by V.I. Housing and Finance Authority.
During the pre-bid meeting in May, Williams-Octalien also told contractors that their bids must account for the use of government-owned lumber.
“Contrary to public opinion, the material at the lumber yard is good, ‘tier one’ lumber,” Williams-Octalien said in May, repeating assertions she made to lawmakers on the Housing, Transportation and Telecommunications Committee in February. “So you know — those of you who are in the industry know — that you cannot buy ‘tier one’ lumber here in the Virgin Islands.”
Indeed, large quantities of lumber were sent to the territory through the Federal Emergency Management Agency after hurricanes Irma and Maria. The V.I. Housing Finance Authority, which later assumed control of the wood, issued a May 2020 request for proposals seeking a contractor to manage the lumber’s storage and distribution. Now, that award is at the center of an ongoing prosecution in the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands.
William Thelusma, of Nuvo Construction, told The Daily News hours before an indictment was unsealed back in June, that after years of the wood sitting out in the elements, “I don’t think it’s fair to go use that in somebody else’s house.”
Lumber languishes while some make millions
According to that indictment, Davidson Charlemagne, the Education Department’s facilities manager and his wife, Sasha, collected millions in federal disaster recovery dollars while storing the lumber rent-free on department property – the now condemned Alexander Henderson Elementary School. That school was also damaged when Maria, a Category 5 hurricane, wreaked havoc on the island on Sept. 20, 2017. Hurricane Irma, another Category 5 storm, had ravaged St. Thomas and St. John mere weeks before on Sept. 6.
Previously, the St. Croix lumber had been stored at Sunshine Mall in Frederiksted. At some point in 2020, the mall’s owner asked the government to remove the wood from his property, according to the indictment.
On Friday, hours after The Daily News story on EnVIsion Tomorrow program was published, ODR issued a Request for Proposals for warehouse and security services. It noted that the lumber on St. Thomas is stored at Frenchman’s Bay Quarter, specifically at No. 2-2 Bovoni.
The alleged scheme was partially obscured by the fact that Charlemagne’s company, D&S Trucking, was a subcontractor. The actual award went to Island Services Group, or ISG.
The indictment also charged former V.I. Housing Finance Authority Chief Operating Officer Darin Richardson with improperly awarding the $3 million contract in January 2021, and a bid from a rival company “was altered by unknown co-conspirators after it was submitted to VIHFA,” effectively rendering it less competitive.
The V.I. Housing and Finance Authority contract with ISG was amended at least five times, according to the amendments reviewed by The Daily News:
• June 2021 — The value of the contract was increased to more than $4 million and the term of performance was increased from 2.8-3 years. The June 13 indictment, however, claimed that the contract already had a three-year term.
• August 2021 — The value of the contract was increased again to more than $4.3 million.
• October 2021 — The value of the contract was increased again to more than $4.4 million.
• June 2023 — The signatures of both Charlemagnes appear for the first time, and the contract was amended to include language from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.
The original professional services contract and early amendments were signed by former-VIHFA Executive Director Daryl Griffith and Island Services Group managing partner Morris Anselmi. The amendments were also signed by Kimberley McCollum, who listed herself as a “member-manager” of ISG on a federal tax form. One later amendment was signed by Dayna Clendinen during her tenure as interim executive director of the Housing Finance Authority.
No members of ISG were named in the June indictment but, separately, a federal grand jury in February charged Anselmi and McCollum, a former president of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, with fraudulently taking in approximately half a million dollars in Paycheck Protection Program money.
The fifth and final amendment provided to The Daily News was dated May 16, 2024 — less than a month before federal prosecutors closed in. It was signed by Anselmi, McCollum, and Housing Finance Authority Director Eugene Jones Jr., who assumed leadership of the agency in April, and established a new three-year term ending in January 2027.
At the same time, federal prosecutors concluded in their initial complaint, “the woodpiles in St. Croix and St. Thomas remain almost entirely unused and stacked on pallets outdoors and exposed to the elements for more than three years.”
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