President of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) Ancel Roget has accused Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley of violating procurement legislation and mishandling the non-binding bidding process for the acquisition of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery.
Speaking at a press conference at the Paramount Building in San Fernando yesterday, Roget said despite spending tens of millions in the acquisition process, Patriotic Energies and Technologies had the financial resources from investors as well as expertise from workers to efficiently operate the mothballed refinery.
However, Roget said the Prime Minister was against the working class, as he described Dr Rowley as a “bully”. “Don’t be afraid of Rowley,” Roget urged. “Rowley is a bully, but the OWTU is not afraid of any bullies.”
Chastising Dr Rowley’s assertion that the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery did not belong to the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU), which Roget leads, Roget agreed that the refinery is a national asset, but he cautioned the Prime Minister that the Diplomatic Centre and the Office of the Prime Minister are also assets of the people.
Roget highlighted a report from the Business Guardian on the meeting between Indian businessman Naveen Jindal and the Prime Minister last week. Roget said this constituted a breach of procurement laws based on the corruption allegations that Jindal faces in India.
He further criticised the current non-binding bidding process for the refinery, noting that eight parties, including the OWTU, had met the requirements set by Scotia Bank International, the independent body responsible for selecting a bid to present to Cabinet.
“In the past, we won that bid against 76 other companies. We provided every single requirement and request in this current process, which closed on May 10,” Roget revealed.
He expressed outrage over recent developments, saying, “Up comes an Indian businessman last week in the Diplomatic Centre, in the face of procurement legislation, in a display of supreme bias, discussing the same asset with the Prime Minister. That cannot be right. It definitely cannot be ethically, morally, spiritually, or lawfully right.”
He accused the Prime Minister of arbitrarily extending the bidding process, originally set to conclude in June, to the end of August.
“This is a scandal when the Prime Minister can change the date, change the rules of the game, engage a businessman, and display bias because nobody else was invited to the Diplomatic Centre,” Roget declared. He then displayed international magazines, including Forbes, Hindustan Times, Business Standard of India, and Business Today India, questioning what special considerations were being afforded to Jindal.
“Is this person involved in the process? What special considerations were given to this billionaire, as Stuart Young described?” he asked pointedly. Roget condemned the Government’s track record, stating, “The Government has failed the people. Since Rowley took office, 4,419 people have been butchered. T&T’s credit rating has fallen, crude oil production has dropped by 33.4 per cent, and gas production has decreased by 36.4 per cent.”
Despite internal conflicts within the UNC, Roget affirmed the JTUM’s support for the Opposition and other parties opposing the PNM, saying there must be a united front against the PNM, which has brought ruin to the people of T&T.
The refinery
The Pointe-a-Pierre refinery was mothballed in November 2018 when Petrotrin was shut down. In September 2019, Patriotic was named the preferred bidder for the assets of Guaracara Refining and Paria Fuel Trading. However, in January 2021, the Government rejected Patriotic’s bid, citing financial burdens. Patriotic submitted its second revised offer to acquire the refinery in February 2021.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley promised a preferred bidder by June. However, last week, Dr Rowley announced that the Government was now considering potential operators with access to crude oil for the refinery.
Speaking at the People’s National Movement Sports and Family in San Fernando last Sunday, Dr Rowley announced that the Cabinet will install a team to assess bids submitted in a month.
He said the Government should be able to tell the country whether it has an operator for the old Petrotrin asset by the end of August. Dr Rowley was contacted via WhatsApp message yesterday, but he did not respond.