Opposition: PM stalling on Udecott

Neither did the UNC A make a mistake to demand a commission of inquiry which the Government has since said it would appoint.

Panday made these statements after disclosing that the Opposition has not been consulted by the Government on who should be the four members of the Udecott/construction industry inquiry or what its terms of reference should be. Government sources yesterday said no decision has been made as yet regarding the inquiry but Prime Minister Patrick Manning will issue a statement once a new chairman has been chosen. Manning’s nominee, former Integrity Commission chairman Gordon Deane, withdrew from the commission after he received threats.

Panday said he hoped the Government would not use the inquiry as “a cover up instrument” and said the probe should be limited to Udecott and not the entire construction industry.

Opposition Chief Whip Ramesh Maharaj has repeatedly made calls for the Government to discuss the members of the commission with Panday.

Maharaj again made the call when he spoke with reporters after defending Panday who appeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court for the retrial of integrity charges against him.

“Mr Manning has not consulted the Opposition. Mr Manning is obviously afraid to have this commission of inquiry to examine the state of Udecott,” said Maharaj.

Maharaj said the Opposition believes local retired judge Justice Lennox Deyalsingh, a retired Privy Council judge or a former Lord Chancellor from the United Kingdom would be an appropriate person to chair the Udecott inquiry.

Under the former UNC government, Deyalsingh chaired a committee to investigate allegations of corruption in the Piarco airport project. The former regime did not act on the Deyalsingh committee’s recommendations but the PNM appointed a commission of inquiry into the Piarco project when it assumed office in 2002.

Maharaj also questioned the scope of the inquiry, echoing sentiments raised by the Joint Consultative Council of the construction industry which said Udecott should be the first priority of the inquiry. “Mr Manning is trying to dilute the allegations that have been made against Udecott,” said Maharaj.

Maharaj also claimed something was amiss about a legal notice issued by the Government that waived the requirement for quarries less than 150 acres in size to require certificates of environmental clearance. He said this opened the door for the Sunway Construction Group of Malaysia to enter the local construction industry. Maharaj alleged on May 23 in Parliament that Sunway Caribbean, the Malaysian company’s Caribbean subsidiary, was formerly a company run by relatives of Udecott chairman Calder Hart and that the company was awarded a $368 million contract to build the Legal Affairs Tower on the Government Campus Plaza in Port-of-Spain. Last October, Government signed a memorandum of understanding with Sunway to invest $47 million in Scott’s Quarry, Arima that would result in a reduction in aggregate prices from $115 per tonne to $85 per tonne.