Elias: Inquiry is a waste of time

NH INTERNATIONAL chairman Emile Elias yesterday declared that the Commission of Inquiry to investigate contracts awarded to NH International and Warner Construction is “a monumental waste of time and money” and several top UNC officials could be hauled before foreign courts of law for slandering NH International’s global reputation. During a news conference in St James, Elias produced July 18, 2000 and February 20, 2001 letters from NIPDEC to NH managing director John Connan to prove that former Health Minister Dr Hamza Rafeeq had pre-qualified NH to handle the relocation of the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital and other Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded Health Sector Reform Programme projects.

He also produced February 19, July 16 and October 16, 2001 letters from the National Maintenance and Training and Security Company to show that then Education Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had pre-qualified NH to construct 12 schools under the Secondary Education Modernisation Programme. Elias said NH has been undertaking IDB-funded contracts in TT from 1994 to 2004 and questions about its eligibility to do so had not arisen until now. “We have pre-qualified for all IDB projects and the criteria have not changed. We have sent in a pre-qualification this afternoon and the documents continue to say as long as you are constituted in an eligible country and operate in conformity with the laws of that country, you are eligible. We are domiciled here, registered here and we operate here,” Elias declared. He also produced evidence to show that companies registered and domiciled in the Cayman Islands (a non-IDB member nation) are also eligible for IDB funding.