Opposition Senator Faris Al Rawi told journalists it would have been impossible to know about land slippage at the site of the Las Alturas housing project in Morvant before 2009. Al Rawi made this statement during a news conference at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
The $26 million project included a nine-apartment building complex. Announcing a commission of enquiry into the project in Parliament on Thursday, the Prime Minister said Al Rawi was a member of the HDC board when the contract was issued. But Al Rawi walked with boxes of HDC board minutes and other documents yesterday to deny the claim. He said his appointment at the HDC was terminated several months before any public information was released about the land slippage at the site.
“At no time whatsoever in my tenure and in those board minutes has any information come forward which demonstrated that there was a cause for concern that a reasonable and responsible member of the board should have agitated by way of further investigation,” he added. Al Rawi also said, “None of the board minutes, none of the Tenders Committee reports demonstrate any issue which any minister should have acted upon.”
He added that the minister’s responsibility “is significantly removed in terms of projects that come to his attention.” According to Al Rawi, the firm Geotech Associates Ltd did several reports for the contracting company, China Jiangsu International Corporation (CJIC), and not for the HDC. He said the report noted, “the first time one would have been aware of slippage concerns or problems on the site was late October/November 2009.”
He added, “They made a further statement in their summary reports that it was impossible for this fault to have been located.” He said the company further indicated that “the manner in which the project was constructed was proper, that the type of foundation used was proper.”
Al Rawi said the company also “confirmed that certainly no information was sent to the HDC as to concerns that the geotechnical information would require the contractor to not build on that site.” Accusing Persad-Bissessar of being irresponsible, Al Rawi said she must be aware that legal proceedings were being contemplated against CJIC and that there were potential legal proceedings against the geotechnical experts, the project manager and other consultants.
He said the PM must be aware of the forensic report produced on the project for the HDC. He said the PM, therefore, should know that “you ought not to call a commission of enquiry in law because people will claim the right of self-incrimination.” Al Rawi said the contractor and others “are going to say that they are going to rely upon the constitutional right against self-incrimination in providing evidence.”
