Panday calls for probe in Tobago hospital

Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday yesterday called for an inquiry into the delay and cost overruns in the construction of the Scarborough Regional Hospital Project. Leading off the Budget debate in the House of Representatives yesterday, Panday noted that there was an allegation that the Housing Minister (Keith Rowley) was “in bed” with the contractor for the Hospital, NH International Limited, a company owned by Emile Elias. He criticised Government’s record in the area of transparency. Panday however spent time heavily  quoting from an IBD report which criticised Trinidad and Tobago’s heavy dependence on oil and gas, and which warned that any price shock would be disastrous for the economy. The document noted that oil income had not led to the development of world-class companies. “While foreign investment has been consistently high, there has been little development of sophisticated upstream industries,” the IDB stated.