No corruption in PURE under Jack: Dookeran

Just days after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar stated that she is restoring the Programme for Upgrading Roads Efficiency (PURE) in the works and infrastructure minister the Minister of Finance has told reporters there was no corruption in PURE under Jack Warner.

Winston Dookeran made the statement at the weekly post cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair.

The government drastically reduced the operations of PURE last year to conduct an audit. The move stalled many road and infrastructure projects, which led to citizen protests in various communities.

Dookeran said his ministry has completed the audit and found no corruption. “It mainly looked at the systemic deficiency in the system and there was need for changes to the operationalisation of the PURE,” he said.

He added that officials have proposed an adjustment to the entire structure "for delivering expenditure in this area.”

Dookeran said PURE would now be part of the major executing agency.

“What the ministry found was that there were procedures that were not efficiently followed and as such we need to rectify that process.” He said the proposed changes are intended “to ensure that the road programme gets off the ground in a faster and more accelerated way.”

The minister said there is no obligation to present the report to Parliament since it was conducted internally.