UDECOTT 'ATTACKS UNFAIR'By SEAN DOUGLAS Friday, October 16 2009
MINISTER of Planning Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde yesterday defended Udecott’s award to Sunway Construction Caribbean Limited (formerly known as CH Development) of a $300 million contract to furnish the Ministry of Legal Affairs Tower.
The new contract has led to a public outcry as it follows allegations made in the Uff Commission of Inquiry that Udecott executive chairman Calder Hart has close family links to Sunway/CH which Udecott previously awarded a $368 million contract to build the tower.
On October 11, the Sunday Newsday in a story entitled “Udecott gives Sunway new $300 million contract” reported, “In a series of sworn statutory declarations filed in May and September, Carl Khan, the ex-husband of Sherrine Hart, Calder Hart’s wife, deposed that two former directors of Sunway Construction Caribbean Limited were, in fact, Mrs Hart’s brother and brother-in-law. Khan said Alan Lee Hup Ming and David Ng Chin Poh had been in contact with Mrs Hart for years.”
Dick-Forde defended this latest award at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.
Newsday asked Dick-Forde whether as line minister she would instruct Udecott to rescind the $300 million contract and whether she would fire the Udecott board.
Dick-Forde replied: “The, what I would call this campaign of injustice and unfair attacks on the Udecott, I do not subscribe to it. The Udecott issued a press release and I thought the press release was very comprehensive in addressing the issues that were raised. They clearly showed that they went through a process in awarding that contract, and I have no problems with it.
“For the record, I do not believe a line minister should enter into matters that were tendered and a process that went through and a board would have oversighted (the) procedures.”
She said the media had reported a recent Udecott press advertisement on the matter plus subsequent reactions to this statement.
Regarding any revocation of the latest contract, she said, “This notion of ministers revoking things is very untidy and there is no basis in proper governance of institutions for that kind of behaviour.”
Newsday asked if there was a breach of the Code of Conduct of the Integrity in Public Life Act which bans any appearance of a conflict of interest for Udecott to award the contract to a firm with alleged familial links.
Dick-Forde replied, “You have determined what has been said is in fact true and correct? Do you have evidence that all these things are correct?”
Another reporter asked if Sunway’s directors had included the brother and brother-in-law of Calder Hart’s wife, Mrs Sherrine Hart.
Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert, who was also at the media conference, replied, “Well you see where are you going? If any of you all had bothered to listen to or attend the hearings of the Commission of Inquiry, that is not the allegation that was made.
“The allegation that was made was that another company was formed for the purpose of submitting a tender and that the contract for the tender was eventually awarded to Sunway, a large multi-national company. I have met the various directors of Sunway and I am certain that none of them are the brother-in-law of Calder Hart, so be very careful with what you are saying.”
Another reporter pressed the case asking if there was any connection between the allegations made in the inquiry and the $300 million contract? Imbert replied, “As far as I’m aware the contract that is being discussed in the media is a contract between the Urban Development Corporation and Sunway, not any other company.”
A reporter asked about Udecott’s legal action to stop the Uff inquiry.
Dick-Forde replied, “They have a right, as a corporate citizen. Every citizen has a right to judicial review and as a corporate citizen that is what we went after...There’s no conflict between a citizen going after judicial review and the commission continuing. There’s absolutely no conflict in that.”
Was Cabinet concerned about Udecott’s legal action?
She replied, “When I made the comment I also stated that there was continuous conversation between the AG (Attorney General John Jeremie) and Udecott, and I was also a part of it, to make sure that whatever was done was not going to interfere with the Commission of Inquiry. As you would have seen, the AG followed through on that.”
