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Guest
Member of Parliament for Arouca/Maloney Camille Robinson-Regis admits to being “aghast” that the contractor constructing the community centre has been forced to leave the project because of intimidation and demands for “protection money.”
But she is warning the criminal element that she will not “stand for that,” and the police are now being asked to do regular patrols and monitor the project which will be completed by a different contractor.
Robinson-Regis told the T&T Guardian yesterday that “it appears there are elements in the area who want to get work by intimidation and we not going to stand for that.”
She said the contractor had sent her a message indicating that “due to security challenges in the community he decided to move on.”
Robinson-Regis said another contractor is now being sought to complete the project at Emperor Boulevard Bon Air Gardens, which she said is “about 40 per cent complete, it is well underway.”
The MP recalled that the community centre was to have been built several years ago “and there were issues regarding the location and so on and we have gotten it up and running and now we have this concern. It is very disturbing for me as the Member of Parliament,” she said.
Robinson-Regis who is also the Minister of Planning and Development said she was “aghast to hear what was taking place at the community centre.”
And as a result she said he had spoken to the ACP in charge of the division McDonald Jacob and “he has given the assurance that whosoever gets the contract will be well-protected and they will ensure they have regular patrols.”
Robinson-Regis said it appeared that there were “some elements in the area who want to get work by intimidation and we not going to stand for that.”
She said the police have committed to meeting with whoever is the next contractor “in terms of making sure that the security is increased on that site and also that the police make regular patrols in that area.”
Robinson-Regis said she would not “tolerate lawlessness in the constituency of Arouca Maloney.”
She noted that in the recent past “you may have noticed that you have not been hearing anything much about that constituency in terms of gang-related violence or lawless behaviour, because we have been working very closely with the police to ensure that that does not occur in the constituency of Arouca/Maloney and we have been getting a very good response.”
What had been taking place in relation to this particular contract, she said, “is some nefarious element trying to shake down contractors and we are not allowing it to happen.”
Admitting that she became “very concerned” when the contractor told her that he was being asked to pay “thousands of dollars in protection money,” Robinson-Regis said she immediately sought the intervention of the police, “that is not supposed to be taking place it is highly illegal and we not going to stand for it,” she said.
Robinson-Regis admitted that the contractor had made a previous complaint “and we spoke to the police and Udecott and then this complaint came in and he just could not work on the project any longer,” it was “unfortunate” she said that she had only been told about “this after the fact.”
Asked whether she had reports from other contractors in the area that they were experiencing similar issues Robinson-Regis said “I have not heard of it taking place elsewhere, as a matter of fact we have other jobs in the area like URP and the HDC working on some of the houses and so on and we have had no problems of this nature.”
She said there is a large HDC project in Bon Air near the Government Secondary School where town houses are being constructed “and there have been no such complaints on that project. What we have done is involve members of the community in the employment and that has certainly worked in our favour,” she said.
Checks with the Contractors Association indicate that there have been no reports from the membership of the Association about demands for payment of protection money.
President of the Association Ramlogan Roopnarinesingh told Guardian Media the Association had received no recent complaints. The last time such a complaint was made he said was “about five or six years ago from a contractor on the Beetham.”
President of the Joint Consultative Council Dr James Armstrong said the Council was also not aware of any such reports.