While the People’s National Movement chastised Government over Super Industrial Services Ltd’s being awarded the $1 b contract to build the Beetham Waste Water Treatment Plant, Movement for Social Justice leader David Abdulah said it had no “moral authority” to do so.
At a press conference at his party’s St Joseph Village, San Fernando headquarters on Thursday, Abdulah said Opposition leader Dr Keith Rowley and his party failed to support the process for proper procurement legislation that a parliamentary joint select committee has proposed. On Monday, Rowley wrote to President Anthony Carmona on the billion-dollar water recycling plant contract awarded to a consortium led by SIS.
Abdulah said the People’s National Movement (PNM) should have supported a position that could have stopped Government from continuing in its bobol. “Dr Rowley and the Opposition, for all the noise they are making about the wastewater treatment plant, quite frankly have no moral authority to speak, because in the Joint Select Committee of Parliament, the PNM refused to support proper public procurement legislation.
“In fact if you go to the records, they absented themselves from the committee and they also did not vote in support or sign even the minimal report of that Joint Select Committee.” As well as criticising the PNM, Abdulah also hit out at his former colleagues in the People’s Partnership, saying they were allowing corruption to continue.
As the MSJ gets ready for the 2015 general election, he said they were the only party committed to a proper process of public procurement. He said the PP was not committed as it had delayed passing the legislation for the past two years.
“The Government failed to do so because they are not interested in public procurement. They are talking about it, but while they are talking about it, while the legislation is not brought to Parliament, people are getting fat off the public’s purse. So corruption is ongoing because there is no public procurement legislation. “Now in the newspapers, we are seeing reports about public procurement arrangements for the wastewater treatment plant and pipeline facility from the Beetham to Point Lisas.
“There are questions being raised as well about the state of Lake Asphalt and whether or not deals were made and signed off on when the Prime Minister was in China with respect to the Pitch Lake, which is one of our national treasures and a very important national asset,” Abdulah said. Abdulah also announced that he would be defending his post at the party’s March 23 elections.