As the plot thickens over the Government’s decision to have troubled Canadian conglomerate SNC-Lavalin build the Penal hospital, the Local Content Chamber of Industry and Commerce is already scheduling an emergency meeting to discuss the controversial contract. President Lennox Sirjusingh said the allegations surrounding the company were too troubling to ignore.
“My chamber meets on Monday and we shall be discussing these government-to-government arrangements and the effect on our economy. Following today’s report I am asking that our Government seek to revisit the conditions of foreigners being given the entire procurement option,” Sirjusingh said. He said the only hope on the horizon was for all negotiations to be terminated, pending full disclosure.
“The only positive seems to be that there is no ‘sealed deal’ possibly opening up an avenue for consultation with stakeholders like the Joint Consultative Council (JCC), Contractors Association and my chamber.” He lamented that preferential interest rates were being offered to the detriment of local contractors, adding that the Government has been jumping “to give the foreigners the exclusive right to award contracts.”
Sirjusingh questioned: “Are we forgetting or simply disregarding the benefits of local content, the vehicle for national development?” Since the Guardian exclusively reported that SNC-Lavalin was granted permission to build the hospital at Clarke Road, Penal, government officials have been silent on the exact terms and conditions of the hospital’s construction. The project is being supervised by the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott), which falls under the purview of Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal.
Udecott’s CEO Kurt Ramlal said negotiations were still in progress. He could not give specifics as to the cost of construction. Moonilal, who insisted that the Canadian authorities hired SNC-Lavalin, said Udecott had written to the Canadian mission to get answers.
In the meantime, JCC president Afra Raymond is calling for full disclosure on the project. “It seems the chickens have come home to roost because we have raised these issues with the Prime Minister since last year. We expressed concern about the repercussions of government-to-government arrangements which do not serve the interest of the country,” Raymond said.
SNC-Lavalin has been under investigation for its business practices in Libya since 2011, the same year that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar held discussions with the Canadian Commercial Corporation to build the Penal hospital.
Last May, following a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Persad-Bissessar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Canadian Commercial Corporation and the Ministry of National Security. A source said it is customary for a Canadian company to identify foreign projects and then make a proposal to the CCC for assistance, without having tendering. It is uncertain whether this was how SNC-Lavalin got the nod from the Canadian authorities to build the Penal hospital.
Political counsellor at the Canadian High Commission Laurent Morel-à-l’Huissier has not answered questions on the tendering and selection processes involving SNC-Lavalin, saying these matters should be directed to the T&T Government.
‘Integrity of High Commissioner office intact’
T&T’s High Commissioner to Canada Phillip Buxo, meanwhile, said, “I am always concerned about any reports of irregularities. However, any selection was and is the sole jurisdiction of the Canadian authorities and as High Commissioner I am not involved in any way with it. In my role as High Commissioner, I keep an arm’s length distance from all organisations seeking to doing business with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to maintain strict accountability. The integrity of the office of High Commissioner is intact.”
More on SNC-Lavalin
In April this year, the World Bank slapped a ten-year ban on SNC-Lavalin Inc, a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin and its affiliates, from bidding on projects funded by the bank because of a scandal over bribes. Former CEO of SNC-Lavalin Pierre Duhaime was charged with fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and issuing false documents, involving CAN$22.5 million in payments relating to a hospital project in Montreal.
Former executive vice president Riadh Ben Aissa also faced the same charges after being arrested in April 2012 in Switzerland on suspicion of corruption, fraud and money-laundering in North Africa.
Three countries, Canada, Mexico and Switzerland, also initiated investigations with SNC-Lavalin’s involvement with Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi’s son, Saadi. In 2012, the Canadian national police raided SNC-Lavalin’s headquarters on suspicion that Ben Aissa had paid Saadi Gaddafi CAN$160m in kickbacks for giving major contracts to SNC-Lavalin.
Ben Aissa was arrested in Switzerland later in April, 2012, and indicted in November over allegations that he transferred money to Saadi Gaddafi through a network of companies and accounts. Despite these allegations, the T&T Government confirmed that SNC-Lavalin was chosen to build the Penal hospital. Bilateral relations between T&T and Canada have also remained strong.