Contractors want laws to regulate industry
Trinidad and Tobago
President of the Trinidad and Tobago Contractors Association, Glenn Mahabirsingh, said yesterday that the body would be renewing its call for contractor licensing and registration legislation in the new year.
In an interview with Guardian Media, Mahabirsingh said the policy will help further regulate the industry by protecting individuals and businesses from losing their money to unqualified contractors.
Mahabirsingh said more than ten years after initial work began on a policy to regulate the industry, no further action has been taken.
He maintained that the public will benefit significantly from the legislation, arguing, “One of the activities for the association for 2024, and it is not a simple task, will be to revitalise the efforts or work that was done about ten years ago relating to registration, licensing and contractors.
“The association sees this legislation or policy on the registration and licensing of contractors as an important tool to manage the industry in terms of ensuring persons who are engaged in the industry are able to deliver.”
Meanwhile, Mahabirsingh hailed this year’s proclamation of the procurement legislation as a major boost for operations in the sector as well as its sustainability.
“This procurement legislation definitely is a positive for the industry. We have already seen fruits of the legislation such as the annual procurement plan being published by the ministries, which can be used by contractors to plan their proposed works for 2024.”
On December 8, the Ministry of Finance published the annual schedule of planned procurement activities for fiscal 2024 on its website.
The schedule includes the proposed date for the issue of bidding documents, the estimated delivery or completion date, the procurement method, the standstill period and the contract type.
The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act was fully proclaimed in April. It aims to reform the procurement laws of Trinidad and Tobago in keeping with the principles of good governance, such as accountability, transparency, integrity and value for money.
Former deputy permanent secretary (Ag) and permanent secretary (Ag), Beverly Khan was appointed as the procurement regulator and chair of the Procurement Board of Trinidad and Tobago, on June 28, 2023 for a period of five years.
Khan leads a board that comprises: deputy chair, chartered accountant, Robby Bhola, and members Joy Abdul-Mohan; Natasha Ashby; Frederick Bowen; Nadine Bushell; David Charlerie; Herdis Lee Chee; Dr. Anthony Lamb and Tracey Rojas.
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