{"id":37951,"date":"2025-01-09T23:09:22","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T04:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=37951"},"modified":"2025-01-09T18:16:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T23:16:00","slug":"opposition-mp-tancoo-exposes-5b-corruption-scandal-in-tts-national-security-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/opposition-mp-tancoo-exposes-5b-corruption-scandal-in-tts-national-security-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition MP Tancoo exposes $5B corruption scandal in T&#038;T&#8217;s National Security Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Trinidad and Tobago<\/p>\n<div class=\"relative mx-auto max-w-7xl my-8 px-6\">\n<div class=\"my-8 grid grid-cols-2 md:grid-cols-3 gap-10 relative\">\n<div class=\"col-span-2\">\n<div class=\"mt-8 prose prose-lg prose-branding !max-w-none\">\n<p><strong>Trinidad and Tobago:<\/strong>\u00a0The Opposition Member of Parliament,\u00a0Davendranath Tancoo,\u00a0spoke about the alleged corruption in the Ministry of National Security of\u00a0Trinidad and Tobago.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Tancoo stated that the protective services under the ministry had been stifled because of corruption.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The Opposition MP mentioned that the procurement regulator, Beverly Khan, received whistleblower reports of illegal activities, including corruption and bid rigging.<\/p>\n<p>Tancoo also accused the\u00a0Ministry of National Security\u00a0of failing to provide contract listings and properly account for billions spent without following proper procurement procedures.<\/p>\n<p>He questioned,\u00a0<em>\u201cToday 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?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe 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,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he claimed.<\/p>\n<p>Not only this, but the MP also said that the Gulf Stream vessel, which mysteriously appeared on the island\u2019s shores, was able to infiltrate the country\u2019s territorial waters due to unknown circumstances resulting in the oil spill.<\/p>\n<p>He slammed the government over the development and highlighted,\u00a0<em>\u201cSeven months later, we still have no answers from this government, even as a shootout reportedly occurred on the rec a few weeks ago.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>He said that the nation\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Davendranath Tancoo continued to emphasise,\u00a0<em>\u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He accused the incumbent PNM government of greed, claiming the country\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wicnews.com\/trinidad-tobago\/opposition-mp-tancoo-exposes-5b-corruption-scandal-in-tts-national-security-ministry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-span-2 md:col-span-1\">\n<div class=\"md:sticky md:top-32\">\n<div class=\"mt-10 w-full flex flex-col bg-white shadow-md p-5\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"relative\"><em>Image: pexels-markus-winkler<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"relative mx-auto max-w-7xl my-8 px-6\">\n<div class=\"my-8 grid grid-cols-2 md:grid-cols-3 gap-10 relative\">\n<div class=\"col-span-2 md:col-span-1\">\n<div class=\"md:sticky md:top-32\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago:\u00a0The Opposition Member of Parliament,\u00a0Davendranath Tancoo,\u00a0spoke about the alleged corruption in the Ministry of National Security of\u00a0Trinidad and Tobago. He claimed that 5 billion dollars&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1091,"featured_media":37952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[250],"tags":[157,137],"class_list":["post-37951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-articles","tag-anti-corruption","tag-trinidad-and-tobago"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/pexels-markus-winkler-1430818-19835552-scaled-e1736464330757.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-9S7","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21774,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/young-confident-new-laws-will-improve-trinidad-and-tobagos-corruption-ranking\/","url_meta":{"origin":37951,"position":0},"title":"Young confident new laws will improve Trinidad and Tobago&#8217;s corruption ranking","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"April 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Trinidad and Tobago \u00a0 Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young says he is optimistic that Trinidad and Tobago's global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking will improve during the next annual report to reflect the work done by the government in implementing legislation to improve transparency and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31799,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/benefits-will-far-outweigh-the-challenges\/","url_meta":{"origin":37951,"position":1},"title":"Benefits will far outweigh the challenges","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"December 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Trinidad and Tobago AS Trinidad and Tobago approaches six months since the full proclamation of the Procurement Act, procurement regulator Beverly Khan acknowledges that while there have been some teething problems, she believes that the benefits will far outweigh the challenges. Delivering the feature address in a webinar hosted by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pexels-pixabay-209224-scaled-e1703815769509.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pexels-pixabay-209224-scaled-e1703815769509.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pexels-pixabay-209224-scaled-e1703815769509.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pexels-pixabay-209224-scaled-e1703815769509.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21988,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/cctv-procurement-process-compromised\/","url_meta":{"origin":37951,"position":2},"title":"CCTV procurement process compromised","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"May 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Trinidad and Tobago \u00a0 MAJORITY State-owned Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) complained, in writing, that the Ministry of National Security\u2019s September 2018 CCTV procurement process was \u201cirretrievably compromised\u201d. The criticism of the ministry\u2019s CCTV procurement process came in a letter written by former TSTT CEO, Ronald Walcott, dated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-scott-webb-430208-scaled-e1651713365348.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-scott-webb-430208-scaled-e1651713365348.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-scott-webb-430208-scaled-e1651713365348.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-scott-webb-430208-scaled-e1651713365348.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2932,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/devant-wants-integrity-probe\/","url_meta":{"origin":37951,"position":3},"title":"Devant wants &#8216;Integrity&#8217; probe","author":"Project Calls","date":"August 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Former transport minister Devant Maharaj is calling on the Integrity Commission to investigate the procurement process by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT) for the inter-island ferry services between Trinidad and Tobago. Speaking to the Express, Maharaj said the entire procurement process of the Cabo Star and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News\/Developments&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News\/Developments","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/newsdevelopments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ferry-Via-Tsuji-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ferry-Via-Tsuji-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ferry-Via-Tsuji-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ferry-Via-Tsuji-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1091"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37951"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37957,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37951\/revisions\/37957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}