Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has served notice on all members of her cabinet and all state boards that she will have zero tolerance for corruption.Speaking at a political meeting in San Fernando Friday night she motioned to the crowd that she will cut down anyone who engages in any form of corruption.
“None will be sacrosanct, no one will be above the law—and that is inside and outside the People’s Partnership. I have said this to every minister. We must never, ever fall into the trap, the corruption, the deceit of the PNM," she said.
"And if I find one minister, one state board member involved in any graft, any deceit, any corruption they will be gone,” she declared.
She made the comment as she exposed a multi-million dollar scandal involving the former PNM government of Patrick Manning.
The Prime Minister said four days before the May 24 general election the Manning administration awarded a $299.8 million UDeCOTT contract to build six police stations.
She added that as a result of the change in government and the delay in starting construction the firm that won the contract is demanding a daily penalty in excess of $144,000. The figure, she said, has reached $8.6 million and continues to grow.
“They were given the contract, then elections were called and they had to wait and the cost of that run-wait impact is $24,150.00 per day per station and not one has started. You are paying as taxpayers $144,900 per day for the six stations,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said she has asked Attorney General Anand Ramlogan to investigate the contract and report to Cabinet.
“These awards were done on the eve of an election, at a time when there was no sitting board of directors...How could you be doing these things and there was no board? Who authorised it? How was it authorised? Why was it authorised? Was there a kickback and how much was that kickback?” she asked.
“Somebody has to go to jail. They don’t want us to talk about it because somebody know they going to jail. Nothing will stop the law. We will obey the rule of law, we are guided by the rule of law,” she said.
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1 comment:
That is encouraging and highly admirable, Prime Minister.
But what it truly needs is for the people in general to commit to ZERO TOLERANCE for corruption, past present AND future.
And to insist on absolute enforcement of that policy.
Remember T&T, "If you always do what you always did, then you'll always get what you always got!".
And it is way overdue for the country as a whole, to hold their elected officials and the bureaucracy that supports them to a far higher standard.
Its time now to stop a collective shrugging of the shoulders and saying to each other "What can you do?"
The answer, as evidenced by the recent national election is obvious - and very effective.
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