In an official address to the Members and Friends of the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute (TTTI), TTTI Chairman Victor Hart has issued this important message:
Dear Members and Friends of TTTI
The Sunday Guardian carried a headline to an article which quoted me on the current Commission of Enquiry impasse which read:
‘Hart, Warner slam Government’. For those of you who may have been disturbed by the headline, please see the full text of what I said:
‘The Enquiry has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. What promised to be the most professional and transparent enquiry ever held in the country has degenerated into a farce. It has cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars and damaged our reputation by confirming how Third World we are.
I find it passing strange that, whereas Thursday’s Cabinet Meeting directed the Line Ministers to have TSTT and PTSC withdraw petitions before the Industrial Court to have the CWU and TIWU de-certified, Cabinet did not direct UDeCOTT’s Line Minister to instruct UDeCOTT to withdraw its legal challenges to the Enquiry, despite calls by many persons to do so. The message is clear: ‘ Different strokes for different folks’.
The implications for the country of Justice Dean-Armorer’s decision are very serious. We must now wait several more months for the Commissioners’ expected recommendations on the reform of Public Sector Procurement while billions of dollars continue to be spent on mega-projects that are experiencing time and cost overruns without the checks and balances that minimize corruption. We must also wait for their recommendations on the reform of the construction sector.
Persons in Public Life against whom serious allegations were made at the Enquiry, some of which the Commissioners might recommend for further investigation, will continue in their posts and have delayed the opportunity to clear their name or to be held accountable for their actions.
The losers will be the people of Trinidad and Tobago who may never know the truth of the charges and counter-charges made at the Enquiry after spending so much money on the Enquiry and the related Court cases. The message to persons at both ends of the social ladder will be clear: ‘ You can do what you want because no one is ever held accountable in T&T’.
Civil Society should take note and send back its own message:’ Enough is enough’.
(End)
Regards,
Victor Hart
TTTI Chairman.
Filed under: Caribbean, Construction, News, commission of inquiry, trinidad and tobago | Tagged: commission, commission of inquiry, enquiry, Transparency, udecott
