Attorney for the Joint Consultative Council for the construction industry (JCC), Alvin Fitzpatrick, SC, is calling for aspects of the construction of the Brian Lara Stadium at Tarouba to be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for further investigation. Fitzpatrick also wants the project to be investigated by a forensic accountant like Robert Lindquist. He made the call during his closing submissions to the Commission of Enquiry into the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) and the local construction sector at Winsure Building, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

Fitzpatrick said the evidence at the enquiry has given cause for more concern over the operations of the Udecott. Based on evidence before the commission, Fitzpatrick said: “We submit that in the report of this commission to the President, you ought to recommend that the award of the contract in respect of packages three and five to HKL (Hafeez Karamath Ltd) and the several payments made thereunder by Udecott to HKL, be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for further investigation.” He said, “The evidence demonstrates clearly a pre-determination to give the contract (to HKL) and it demonstrates payments...” He was interrupted by commissioner Israel Khan, SC, who wanted to know under what terms such a recommendation could be made.

Khan said the Commission could raise observations but it was the responsibility of the Prime Minister to determine what action would be taken on the report of the Commission. He added that, subject to discussions by “my fellow commissioners, we could make no such recommendation. It is ultra vires our terms.” Fitzpatrick also said that the issue of Udecott’s advanced payments to HKL should also be investigated by a forensic accountant like Robert Lindquist. Fitzpatrick insisted that under the terms of reference of the commission, it can at least make recommendations. Moments later, Commission Chairman Prof John Uff attempted to clarify the situation: “May I say that Mr Khan’s observations about what’s within and not within our terms of reference is not a matter that anyone has addressed in this regard. It’s certainly not a matter that we have considered. We will look at that and, no doubt, exchange views.”

Fitzpatrick said the enquiry had “confirmed the very worst fears of the JCC as to the wholly unsatisfactory, reckless and arguably corrupt manner in which Udecott has been run at the expense of the public at large.” Fitzpatrick said the JCC continues to have certain serious concerns about the company, including:
• a genuine lack of accountability and transparency on the part of Udecott,
• Udecott’s failure to subject itself to governmental or ministerial control, to the extent that it conducted itself as if it were a law unto itself and
• Udecott’s flagrant breaches of its own tender procedures in the award of contracts, which were funded by taxpayers.