Government Bolts to Court over THA contract

'LAW BREACHED': Attorney General Anand Ramlogan
Photo by: MICHEAL BRUCE

Government is bolting for the courts.

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan yesterday announced that Government is to go to court seeking a declaration that Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Orville London and the Assembly violated Section 51 of the THA Act when it entered into a $143 million BOLT (Build, Own, Lease, Transfer) contract for the Milshirv Administrative Office.

Ramlogan told the Senate the matter had been referred to the Commissioner of Police for immediate investigation, to the Integrity Commission and the Director of Public Prosecutions by the office of the Attorney General.

Ramlogan said he had spent the last two days looking at the matter, which had been referred to him by the Prime Minister.

"When you deconstruct the BOLT arrangement, it is clear that Orville London and the THA breached the law.

"It appears that the THA negotiated an arrangement which was designed to by-pass and circumvent the provisions of the THA Act," he said.

"There are things about it from the start, however you turn it, however you dissect it, it reeks of corruption and misfeasance," the AG declared, to loud tablethumping support.

Ramlogan said Section 51 of the Act states that the THA Secretary may with the approval of the Minister (of Finance) borrow sums by way of term loans for the purposes of capital development.

Stating the Minister knew the country's balance sheet, he said the THA could not use a "disingenuous device" to get around the provision.

"Depending on what the court says, it may well be that the people of Tobago would be saved from this pernicious and oppressive agreement...and that transaction may be voided," he said to more deskthumping.

Ramlogan said there were too many questions to ask, such as: "How did these people (Dankett Limited) know that Orville London wanted an office complex in the first place to come and approach him with the proposal? This man had a piece of land and suddenly he had a vision...a dream, and he run down in his pyjamas and say 'hey Orville, I dream last night yuh wanted a complex and I will build it for yuh'. This is a strange case of political telepathy. Something has to be wrong."

He said he also wanted to ask London whether he paid 18 months' rent in advance in the sum of $21.64 million through a FCB account, "before even a post hole was dug", as soon as the lease was executed.

"Because if that company fold up, that money gone. That is what happened at e TecK and the WGTL (Petrotrin) matter, which are both before the court," the Attorney General said.

"Was this transaction put before the THA? Was there any public disclosure about it at all?" he asked, getting a response of "no" from his colleagues on the Government bench.

Ramlogan said two questions asked by Reginald Dumas, former head of the Public Service, remain unanswered--whether it was necessary to rent 83,000 feet of office space to house the Agricultural Division of the THA, and how come the cost per square foot of land in Milshirv was double the price of land in the capital city, Scarborough.

Reproduced from express Trinidad