Ethics key to Vision 2020

THE Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) warned the Government that it will not tolerate corruption in any sphere of the Public Sector Reform Initiation Programme (PSRIP) because without ethics, Trinidad and Tobago will not achieve its goal of developed nation status by 2020. This instruction is contained in the PSRIP loan contract signed between the Government and the IDB on March 17. According to Section 2.01, Annex C of the contract: “ The contracting entity, and entities or individuals participating directly or indirectly under these procedures, shall adhere to the highest ethical standards and refrain from engaging in corrupt practices, both during the contracting stage and during the execution of the corresponding procurement contracts.”

Section 2.02 further states: “The resources of the Bank shall not be used to contract individual experts from the country of the borrower if : (a) They are a part of the regular or temporary staff of the institution which receives the financing, or if such institution is the beneficiary of the services to be provided by such individual experts; or (b) they have belonged to such entities within the six months prior to one of the following dates: (i) the presentation of the application for financing; or (ii) that of the selection of the individual expert.” The IDB said it may reduce that term given previous and reasonable by the contracting entity. “Notwithstanding the aforementioned terms, affiliations or relationships, the Bank may take into account other conditions for the purpose of determining the existence of a conflict of interest and therefore declare the incompatibility of the individual expert,” the Bank stated.

In Section 2.03, the IDB said its resources “shall not be used to contract consulting firms from the country of the borrower if the partners, associates, directors and other technical or professional staff of such consulting firms: (a) Belong to the regular or temporary staff of the institution which shall receive financing, or if such institution is the beneficiary of the services to be provided by such consultants; or (b) they have belonged to any of such entities within the six months prior to one of the following dates: (i) that of the presentation of the application for financing; or (ii) that of the beginning of the pre-qualification or selection process of the consulting firm. The Bank said notwithstanding these terms it “may also take into account other conditions for the purpose of determining the existence of a conflict of interest and therefore declare the incompatibility of the consulting firm.”

According to Section 2.04: “A fully-qualified consulting services firm which is a subsidiary or affiliate of a construction contractor, equipment supplier or holding company normally will be considered acceptable only if it agrees in writing to limit its role to the provision of professional consulting services and agrees, in the contract it signs, to disqualify itself and its associates from any construction work, material or equipment supply or financial participation in the same project.” Last month, Works and Transport Minister Franklyn Khan said the former UNC government was guilty of setting back several IDB-funded programmes such as the Health Sector Reform Programme and the National Highways Programme. Khan said the IDB was happy that most of the IDB-funded projects in TT are now on an even keel. The total cost of the PSRIP is US$6.25 million.