Letter to the Editor – Emergency Excuses Explained

The Editor,

#TheTruthEatsLies

The PM’s welcome decision to reconvene Parliament to rectify the Exemptions provisions of the Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Property Act (the Act) needs to be carefully scrutinized to defend the Public Interest.

There are two interlocking grounds for concern – 

  1. ‘Emergency Procurement’
    Both the PM and the Finance Minister have repeatedly stated that the Act takes a one -size-fits-all approach to Public Procurement, which effectively does not cater for Emergency Procurement.  Those assertions are being used to advance the case for further diluting the Act, but those assertions are absolutely untrue.

    The ‘Emergency Procurement’ provisions are at Procurement Methods & Procedures Regulation 14(2)(c): “Sole source selection may be used…where, due to reasons of extreme urgency brought about by unforeseen events…the subject matter of the procurement cannot be obtained in a timely manner…”

    There are also adequate provisions for other types of emergency and urgent situations, etc, but I have just included the main citation to demonstrate that it is not a one-size-fits-all set of arrangements, as its detractors have been saying.
  2. Affirmative Resolution
    The Parliament agreed on 8 December 2020 that the Ministerial Exemptions would be approved by Affirmative Resolution, yet the draft Amendments tabled for debate on Wednesday, 19 July 2023 provide for approval of those via Negative Resolution.  That is contrary to what was agreed when the 2020 amendments were debated in Parliament and this is being advanced on the false basis of the lack of ‘Emergency Procurement’ provisions.

We need the utmost vigilance to defend our collective interests as these convulsions will intensify.

Sunlight is the best Disinfectant.

Afra Raymond,
former JCC President

VIDEO: CNC3 interview on the Ministerial exemptions in TT Procurement legislation

This is an interview with news anchors Ria Rambally and Ryan Bachoo on the controversial Ministerial Exemptions to the Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Property Act, which was broadcast on 7:00 pm news on CNC3 Television on Friday, 14 July 2023. Video courtesy CNC3.

  • Programme Date: 14 July 2023
  • Programme Length: 00:07:18
Video courtesy CNC3 TV

Letter to the Editor – Egregious Exemptions Explained

The Editor,

The 2020 suite of amendments to the Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Property Act (the Act) removed oversight from some significant types of public spending and created the option for the Finance Minister to create new exemptions.  That Ministerial discretion to create new exemptions is now the subject of considerable controversy and threatened lawsuits.  

These issues have emerged from two three-month Ministerial exemptions – the Judiciary on 29th May and the 50th CARICOM Anniversary/Diplomatic matters on 29th June.  The first of those exemptions came as no surprise, given the Judiciary’s bizarre and still unexplained objections to the Act.  The second set came to the attention of the Opposition and triggered the PM to promise that the Act will be accordingly amended/rectified at a special Parliamentary sitting next week.

It is really important to pause at these moments to take our bearings and record exactly what has taken place.

It is clear from the Hansard that Parliament intended and agreed that these Ministerial Exemptions would be subject to  ‘affirmative resolution’, meaning that the proposed Amendment had to be tabled/listed in Parliament for Public notice, Debated and then Voted upon by both Houses.  The purpose of that arrangement being that although the Govt will naturally hold the majority of votes in the Parliament, the Public and the Opposition can have proper Notice of any intended Exemptions and take the necessary steps to deal with it politically. 

For whatever reason, that intention is not in the text of the 2020 Amendments, so the literal reading is that the Minister can create those exemptions via an Order without any reference to Parliament.  Of course, the proper interpretation of that law would require a Court to examine Parliament’s debates to decide, so one can only wonder on what advice was the Finance Minister proceeding.

The Finance Minister has been in office since 2015 and his agreement to the affirmative resolution provision (Hansard of 8 December 2020 – pg 202), as well as his recognition that this error had arisen and needed to be rectified (Hansard of 11 December 2020 – pg 43) are both on the record.  The compelling and inescapable issue being that the Finance Minister knew of the typo in the text and took full advantage of it in a manner which is unbecoming and in my view, quite contrary to his Oath of Office.

Finally, we should all remain alert as these are just a few of the bizarre convulsions from players who are accustomed to the lights being off, or at least suitably dimmed.  Sunlight is the best Disinfectant.

Afra Raymond
former JCC President

ADDENDUM

The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian published a overview written by Kejan Haynes of the situation based on the letter to the editor and concerns from others.

AUDIO: CNC3 interview on procurement

Afra Raymond did a short interview with Dareece Polo of CNC3 Television and Guardian media on the legality of the new exemptions to the Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Property Act. This is an extension to a series of questions arising from the “emergency exemptions” arising from the CARICOM 50th anniversary celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago.

  • Programme Date: 11 July 2023
  • Programme length: 00:08:48
Dareece Polo and Afra Raymond

My reply to MTI on Trinidad Hilton

4th July 2023

The Editor,

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) responded on Sunday, 18 June 2023 to my letter of Friday, 16 June 2023, which pointed-out that the Minister’s reported statement that Trinidad Hilton “had not been renovated for over 20 years” was entirely untrue.

The MTI’s second paragraph confirmed my statements that Trinidad Hilton had been extensively renovated in a program which commenced in 2008. The rest of the MTI’s letter set out some details of the works which are now proposed for that property, but while it is good that we now have that greater level of detail, some serious questions now arise.

My analysis of the Trinidad Hilton, given the estimated profits, as derived from the reported payments of Corporation Tax, shows that the payments of Rent to eTecK would be –

YearNet Profit (after tax, consistent with AGOP)Rent @76%
of Net Profit		Return on Investment ($634M)
2015$3.099M$2.355M0.37%
2016$6.233M$4.737M0.75%
2017$2.533M$1.925M0.31%
2018$1.987M$1.510M0.24%

These estimates indicate extremely low rates of Return on Investment, which no private sector investor would tolerate, especially given the ongoing requirement for expensive periodic capital works.

The concerns all relate to the investment decision, given that the State owns the three largest hotels in T&T – Trinidad Hilton, Hyatt Regency and Magdalena Grand in Tobago.

Since the MTI has engaged in this much-needed disclosure, it would be in the public interest if these details could be now provided –

  • Comparison – without details of the parts renovated in the 2008 program and the out-turn costs, it is impossible to discern the rationale for these new works. I am requesting that MTI provide those details to permit the comparison to justify the new investment;
  • The impact of Hyatt Regency – Hyatt Regency caused a virtual collapse in the POS Hotel market since its opening in Jan 2008, with severe impacts on other hotels in our capital city, as a result of the Government diverting most of its functions/conferences to that new venue. The affected hotels include Ambassador; Crowne Plaza; Kapok; Cascadia; Carlton Savannah and most of all the Trinidad Hilton which decisively lost its pre-eminence in the POS market. Did the 2008 program of works have the effect of improving Trinidad Hilton’s fortunes? What has been its occupancy rate in the past 15 years? I recently saw elaborate proposals for the redevelopment of the Salvatori Building site in downtown POS as a Public Private Partnership, to include a 319-room hotel – how does this affect the investment decision?;
  • Financial performance of the State-owned hotels – this area has been a virtual Black Hole, with very little, if any, reliable information made available. Our Public Officials observe a serious, detrimental commitment to silence on the performance of these massive investments. No audited accounts have ever been made available for these State-owned hotels, although we know that the foreign companies with Management Agreements (Hyatt, Hilton and Hospitality Solutions International for Magdalena Grand in Tobago) would have regular and proper accounts showing real returns to justify their continued operations. Once again, I am requesting MTI to make these figures available to the public, who are paying for all of this.

The Department of Management Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at UWI St Augustine offers post-graduate studies on Tourism and Management, so it would be interesting to have their input on these large-scale investment decisions.

Finally, what are the Ministry’s responses?

Afra Raymond, former JCC President

Open letter to President Kangaloo on the overdue appointment of the Chairman of the OPR

The Editor,

The Office of Procurement Regulation (OPR) Chairman’s position has been vacant since 11th January 2023, with no official indication as to when that vacancy is to be filled. The OPR is an important institution which needs capable and experienced leadership, so we need to have that appointment made without any further delay.

I am reliably informed that this important appointment is being actively considered, but we need to ensure that a sound decision is made in the public interest. The inaugural Regulator, Moonilal Lalchan, was appointed in 2018 after the job was advertised by President Carmona in 2017, so the precedent has been set to publicly invite applications for this position. (See advertisement below)

Mr Lalchan performed well, without any complaints or concerns being expressed, so his reappointment ought to be a priority if we are to operationalise this important new Office to defend the Public Interest. In the alternative, the President should activate a transparent process to appoint a suitable candidate without further delay.  The Regulator’s post has been vacant since January 2023 and President Kangaloo took office three months ago, so this vacancy now needs to be advertised.

Thank you.

Afra Raymond
former JCC President
afraraymond.net

Is Trinidad Hilton the ‘no tell Hotel’?

The Editor,

According to official records, Senator Paula Gopee-Scoon was appointed Minister of Trade & Industry on September 11, 2015, after the current PNM administration took office.

‘Major upgrades to Hilton to start this year‘ was the headline of the extensive article in the Express Business of 14 June 2023 in which Minister Gopee-Scoon was reported to have stated – “… Gopee-Scoon indicated that the hotel was built in 1962 and has not been renovated in over 20 years…”.   The Minister’s assertion that Trinidad Hilton had not been renovated in over 20 years is astonishing and entirely untrue. As I reported in this space, previously drawn from the Parliament’s 2016 JSC Report into the operations of eTeck: 

…In 2016, the Parliament’s JSC examined the operations of e TecK with particular reference to its accounts and finances. Its Report was published in September 2016 and makes intriguing reading, given the stakes here. According to the President of e Teck, Robert Salandy, in his testimony to the Joint Select Committee on 6 April 2016, the project costs have escalated from an original estimate of $484M to a current figure of $634M. A total of $508M had been spent and it was reported that “…Salandy could not give a time-frame in which the renovations at the Hilton hotel would be completed…”

Property Matters – Trinidad Hilton Improvements

Of course the public cannot tell if this plainly untrue statement emerged as a result of poor-record-keeping, a collapse of Institutional Memory, a genuine error/oversight within the Minister’s office or some other misfortune, but the Ministry of Trade & Industry needs to rectify the record, in the public interest. 

Thank you.

Afra Raymond,
former JCC President
Afraraymond.net

VIDEO: Interview on Indaba Online on Procurement legislation in Trinidad and Tobago

Afra Raymond chats with Shabaka Kambon, Dr. Claudius Fergus and Amb. Rev. Kwame Kamau on the Emancipation Support Committee’s online radio programme “INDABA: Where Knowledge Grows” on Talk City 91.1FM on Wednesday, 31 May 2023. They speak on the implementation of the new Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Property Act in Trinidad and Tobago.

  • Programme Date: 31 May 2023
  • Programme Length: 00.41:30
Video courtesy Talk City 91.1 FM