No stone unturned, or unpelted - The Peter O'Connor column

We are rapidly creating a state of affairs in which nothing will be allowed to happen in our society. 

And this because of the frenzy of hysterical and mostly artificial objections we hurl at every initiative. Much of this is coming from the former PNM government, as part of their policy of disruption aimed at preventing any government initiative to begin, far less succeed. 

However, the PNM is ably, and in many cases unwittingly supported by the conventional media and the social media, who have discovered their voices and consciences with a zeal which did not exist a year ago.

Clearly no contract of any kind, for services, consultancies, supplies or construction, can ever again be awarded to anyone living in T&T, by anyone in any position of governance here.

We need to acknowledge two things in waking ourselves up to the reality in which we live:

The first is that the Peoples’ Partnership was not a band of Angels sent from heaven (or wherever) to save us from the corruption, incompetence and nepotism of Manning and his PNM. 

They were a group of politicians, most of whom we already knew, and knew that were not angels, who had to pull together a team to fight and win an election suddenly thrust upon them. 

They too, as political candidates, and later as MPs and Ministers, had to get support from persons or organizations which were looking for their pound of flesh when the PP won the election. Some wanted “office”, some wanted “status” and some wanted “contracts”.

Now, there were “offices” to be filled, “status” to be granted, and “contracts” to be awarded. 

However we wish to look at it, even in societies in the distant first world, supporters of a new government are going to benefit from largesse which must be shared with someone. 

There are very few people in T&T who can honestly claim that they will never want to be part of the sharing of the spoils when a government is changed. All of the rest of us go along and accept it, and indeed I wonder if it can all ever be perfectly transparent and above board.

I would imagine that there are about one thousand persons in the country who actually make all the decisions about procurement, and this includes the public and the private sectors. 

And there are probably about the same number of people or companies bidding for the major contracts, in both public and private sectors. And all of these people, the bidders and the buyers, socialize with each other, although some may not be on speaking terms with some.

What this means in real life is that almost no contract is awarded, in the public or the private sector, that does not have some “friend” on the selection committee pushing for, or against one of the bidders. 

Accept reality, folks, and then we can move forward from there. And this is not to suggest that we must accept the more obvious abuses which come with this system of patronage and prejudices. 

On various Boards sit lawyers, bankers, accountants, doctors and advisors, and all will put in a word for their friends, and deliver a bad talk about those they do not like, or want.

This state of affairs is endemic through our society, and particularly at the upper echelons of wealth and power. 

“Friendship” and “contact” are used constantly to obtain passports, permits, approvals, tax breaks and contract awards. And this I remind you again, is within our social elites, who are the first to express horror at some contract award which they were denied but which was won by a “stronger nepotism”, for lack of a better phrase.

The NP Transport Contract was a case in point. There were so many variables: Options, as in lease and maintain or sell outright; Price, and what does the “price” really cover; “Maintainability”, and does NP have the capability to maintain their fleet (probably not); and Safety, did the existing contractor have safety issues? Could the existing contractor, now benefitting from month-by-month extensions without submitting a bid, have survived the rigorous investigation being directed at the Gopaul’s bid?

For every contract, we are seeing that someone, somewhere, has a complaint of conflict of interest, or that the Board overruled the tenders committee. Well, that happens, all the time, in both the public and private sectors, and all governments. Tender Committees “recommend”, Boards “decide”.

The growing scenario, where every single stone in every riverbed is turned over, searching for scandal, and then pelted at our collective glass houses, cannot be good for us.

A balance must be found to permit us to move forward, without falling prey to the corruption which has also hampered us for years.