The Land and Marine Resources Ministry has referred the Carenage Fishing Centre project to the Finance Ministry to probe, since almost $19 million was spent towards construction in 2009 under the PNM Government and only a shell was produced. Making those points in Tuesday’s 2015 budget debate in Parliament, Land and Marine Resources Minister Jairam Seemungal said he had asked Finance Minister Larry Howai to look into the situation.
He added: “Close to $19 million spent on this and not even a roof! It was not in the Agriculture Ministry, and Fisheries had nothing to do with it. It was under Community Development. So I’ve asked the minister to investigate and see what transpired.”
Seemungal said the Carenage fishing centre was developed by the Community Development Ministry under the PNM administration in 2009. Since there was no consultation with the fisheries sector on it, he said he spoke to the ministry’s permanent secretary and Nipdec and obtained a report.
He said it was found that $1.4 million was spent by one K Jamison and Associates Company Ltd for conceptual and supervisory consultant designs for the structure, and a $16.5 million award was also made to Montex Trinidad Ltd in December 2009 to build the centre. Seemungal said it was projected to be completed in four months to accommodate 108 fishing vessels.
But, he said: “Today the project remains just a shell: no roof, no facility, not even a place for the fishermen to fix their net. When I enquired from the Fisheries Division what transpired, they said the Community Development Ministry had no consultation whatsoever on this facility.
“So they designed and awarded the contract without consultation with the Fisheries Division, which is in touch with the fishermen. When I enquired how many fishermen were there, the initial figure I was told was seven fisherfolk and vessels.” He said there were over 130 vessels at Cocorite and over 100 at another Carenage location.
“So one wonders what happened, why this facility started when no work was done on the other two and why the Diego Martin West MP (Keith Rowley) keeps coming here and bullying the Government that we must fix the centre,” he added. Seemungal said the fishermen would have the Carenage fishing centre after the investigation into the project is completed. Also, $300 million is being spent to upgrade all other fishing centres.
He said the ministry was challenged by land-grabbing by people, especially in the East-West Corridor, who owned HDC houses, rented them out and grabbed state land, some as many as five lots. Seemungal also warned people selling state land that it involved a serious charge of fraud and he had recruited National Security to clamp down on that. The ministry also hired private security to patrol and assist with managing state land. So far 600 illegal buildings have been removed.
The ministry, which has regularised 100 of T&T’s 350 squatter sites, is seeking to deal with squatters on privately owned lands in an arrangement with owners. Ways of working this out will be explored. Seemungal said 900 more leases were to be issued to former Caroni workers, including 800 by year end. The majority will be completed by next March.