Rosemarie Sant
Local contractors are optimistic that the appointment of Rohan Sinanan as the new Minister of Works and Transport will result in “kickstarting the construction sector,” which they say has been in a “comatose” state for more than a year. They are also hoping the hundreds of millions still owed to contractors will be paid.
President of the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) Dr James Armstrong told the T&T Guardian yesterday that while he does not know “what significance the change in minister means,” he is hoping “projects that can at least generate employment and stimulate the economy via the construction sector will start soon.”
President of the Contractors Association Mikey Joseph, meanwhile, said while he does not know much about “Minister Sinanan’s background,” he is optimistic because he felt that “Minister Hinds was more or less handicapped in the ministry, he did not have what it took to get the ministry going.”
Joseph said Sinanan had come in and “he appears to be saying all the right things in terms of looking at contracts, contract oversight, procurement, so we hope he will get a handle on the ministry and take it forward.” He said they will be seeking a meeting with him soon because “we need to sit and meet with him and see how open he is to our ideas.”
In the past year, very little has happened in the industry and only small parts of a $2 billion bill owed to local contractors has been paid, leaving many contractors “reeling.” He said former minister Fitzgerald Hinds indicated that payments were not being made because of contract issues, but he was highly critical of that position.
Of Hinds’ tenure, he said, “You spent a year-plus and you still have not completed audits to be able to say what percentage of people are owed legitimately, how much of the contracts are valid so that payments can be made. By now Hinds should have had a clear idea instead of making rhetorical statements that some of the contracts are not valid,” he said.
Government has spoken of plans for a number of construction projects, including the port in Galeota, the Valencia to Toco Highway and new airport in Tobago among others. Both Joseph and Armstrong are hoping these projects, which were listed in the PNM manifesto, will get going, but Joseph admitted, “We are not sure how those projects would play out.”
In addition, Armstrong said contractors have “ideas” on how to get the industry going and they hope the minister will become involved in the initiatives. He said the JCC plans to meet next week “to flesh out some of the ideas” before requesting a meeting with the minister.
On Monday, Sinanan said under his watch there would be closer scrutiny of how money is spent to ensure that “money is not stolen.”
Armstrong said the JCC is “looking forward to procurement legislation to ensure there is transparency and that local contractors will be given a fair share.” He said the JCC is also “looking forward to partnership agreements, because we are sure that if opportunities are presented the business and private sector will rise to the occasion because there is a lot of money floating around in the economy.”
Like Joseph, Armstrong was concerned about the outstanding debt to many in the industry. He said earlier this year many contractors were “on the brink of going out of business” but some money was paid. Armstrong said contractors were promised that any money that could be properly verified would be paid and they are hoping more payments will be made soon. He said the JCC will “meet next week to do an assessment to get a better picture of what was paid and what is still outstanding.”