PM: We did not pay OAS

As Government MPs thumped their desks in support, the Prime Minister said, “We have terminated OAS Construtora after no claim was made to us leading up to the closure.” Referring to a claim which Rambachan alluded to, Rowley said, “Fortunately for us, we picked up the attempt to dupe the Government into paying a claim that was not payable and had we made that payment, we would have lost our legal standing in claiming the billions of dollars that had been claimed in the courts of London.

” Government MPs thumped their desks again when Rowley declared, “Thank God we were on the ball.” Opposition MPs thumped their desks when Rambachan insisted that the former People’s Partnership (PP) administration took steps to protect the people’s interests on the project. However the Prime Minister countered, “There can be no protection for the people of TT if we are giving up the opportunity to get rid of a contractor, to terminate a contract because the contractor had become bankrupt.”

Adding that the PP failed to make proper assessments of many things during their tenure, Rowley said the People’s National Movement (PNM) is carefully assessing work on the ground with respect to the highway extension. He reiterated it was Government’s intention to break the project into segments which will be handled by different contractors