By CLINT CHAN TACK Monday, October 12 2009

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OCTOBER MAS: In costume more in keeping with Carnival ole' time mas, Jamal Walker of Marabella North Secondary School performs on stage at the Mr and ...

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THE Urban Development Corporation’s (Udecott) decision to quietly award a multi-million dollar contract to Sunway Construction Caribbean Limited yesterday sparked outrage and uproar from rival factions in the Opposition United National Congress (UNC), the TT Transparency Institute (TTTI) and a prominent member of the local construction industry.

The contract was awarded for Sunway to furnish the Legal Affairs Tower at Government Campus Plaza in Port-of-Spain.

Government was swift to reject claims that such a contract had been awarded by Udecott which has been the main focus of the Uff Commission of Inquiry (CoI) and in the spotlight in recent times because of legal action it has taken against the Commission.

Sunday Newsday exclusively reported yesterday that Udecott awarded a $300 million project to Sunway for the furnishing and fittings of the Legal Affairs Tower which will eventually house the Office of the Attorney General and the Legal and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

Speaking with reporters following a public meeting in Couva yesterday, Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj said it was “unbelievable and shocking” that Udecott awarded this project to Sunway, after the High Courts last week revoked an order which temporarily stalled the proceedings of the CoI paving the way for the commission to resume hearings and publish a report on its findings.

Maharaj said this contract should not have been awarded because there is evidence before the Commission which suggests the existence of “shared links” between Udecott chairman Calder Hart and Sunway, which was previously known as CH Development.

“This makes me feel there is a connection between the heart of Patrick Manning and the heart of Calder Hart. It generates a lot of suspicion,” Maharaj declared. He said nothing less would suffice at this stage except for Manning to fire Udecott’s existing board of directors, appoint a new board and direct that board to terminate all legal action against the commission. He added that if Hart wishes to pursue legal action against the commission, he should do so as a private citizen and not at taxpayers’ expense.

Maharaj disclosed that he has a legal team led by attorney Jagdeo Singh currently investigating all information raised during the Inquiry. He said if any evidence of criminal action emerges, the team will consider the possibility of legal action.

UNC deputy chairman Vasant Bharath also condemned the new contract. “This is big enough to have brought a government down,” Bharath said adding that he was disappointed that the UNC was not addressing this issue as a united party.

Rowley did not comment about the award of the contract but reminded that PM Manning fired him from Cabinet last April after he (Rowley) raised concerns about “a lack of oversight” on Udecott operations. Rowley said all of his views about Udecott and the Inquiry are publicly known and he will have more to say at the appropriate time.

TTTI chairman Victor Hart was concerned that the contract will further fuel the perception that “Government has been complicit in what Udecott has been doing to frustrate the CoI.” Hart said Udecott’s awarding Sunway a contract equal in size to one which it received to build the Legal Affairs Tower was simply “adding insult to injury.” He added that the Prime Minister has not helped matters either, through his protracted silence and public support of Hart.

For his part, TT Contractors Association president Mikey Joseph was blunt. “I find it ridiculous!” he said. Given all of the information currently before the Commission, Joseph added, good sense should have dictated that all new work be held in abeyance until the CoI completes its work.

But in response, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Dr Lenny Saith said: “What I know is that it can’t be $300 million. That has to be the figment of someone’s imagination.” As a public building, the Legal Affairs Tower falls under the Ministry of Public Administration which Saith headed prior to the November 5, 2007 general election. Saith also said there was nothing unusual about Sunway doing furnishing work on the tower.

Public Administration Minister Kennedy Swaratsingh said his ministry does not award contracts and in this case, the contract would have been awarded by Udecott. Swaratsingh said there is a team in his ministry which liaises with Udecott on such matters and they have not given him any report about a $300 million contract being awarded to Sunway.