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Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Kazim Hosein last evening slammed former minister in the People’s Partnership government and current activist Devant Maharaj of attempting to embroil him in a possible scandal over the award of Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme Cepep contracts.
Hosein made the comment in response to calls by Maharaj for the acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to launch a probe into a voice recording purported to be a telephone conversation between a Government minister and Member of Parliament (MP) discussing the award of Cepep contracts.
The 24-second recording was posted on social media yesterday and was attached to photographs of the two Government officials.
In the recording, a male voice is heard saying, “Them Cepep contractors in the pool, you want any of them again?”
A female voice is heard answering no, while the male warns “Dr ..... tell me to talk to all yuh directly…don’t send no email and no text….whatever email you have delete eh.”
In his letter to CoP Williams, Maharaj said if the contents of the recording is true, it suggests “a collusion and conspiracy to award contracts to individuals in circumstances where you are making a specific request to delete email documentation.”
He said such inference of deleting emails suggested that the people speaking wish to conceal the method of distributing these contracts.
“I call upon the minister and MP involved to confirm or deny that these are their voices and to clarify the manner in which Cepep contracts are being currently determined,” Maharaj said.
But in a written response to the social media clip yesterday evening, Hosein, the line minister for Cepep, said he received the Whatsapp clip bearing the photographs of high-ranking Government officials.
“It is my understanding that this clip originated from Devant Maharaj - an individual who has fallen out of favour with his colleagues and is grasping at any way back in. I see it as an attempt to make allegations against me and draw me into a scandal,” Hosein wrote.
In defence, Hosein said he speaks with all Members of Parliament, as well as Opposition on many matters, including Cepep “and I direct them to contact the board of the company. I remain dedicated to serving my country in this office and I will not let untrue narratives prevent me from fulfilling this mandate.”
The recording made its rounds on social media one day after the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government published a notice for the pre-qualification and registration of new Cepep contractors. In the ad, applicants who applied for Cepep contracts in 2017 or 2018 were advised not to re-apply.
Documents acquired by the T&T Guardian yesterday also showed what appeared to be a letter dated January 27, 2016, sent by another Government Minister and MP to the secretary of Cepep’s Tenders’ Committee titled “Priority List for Cepep Contract Amended.”
The letter listed nine contractors and read: “The following are the names of contractors who are well-known to me and they all operate in the constituency and have a record of performance in keeping with the highest level of reliability, cost efficiency and quality of work done.”
The letter came from the MP’s constituency office with a signature attached.
Contacted on the issue yesterday, Cepep chairman Ashton Ford said he was unaware of the audio, which the T&T Guardian forwarded to him via Whatsapp. Told of its contents, Ford said he could not comment as he was “new on the job”.
Asked if he would launch an investigation into the recording, Ford replied, “He (Hosein) is the minister. He will be responsible for that, not me.”
Ford said he could also not answer any question just yet as he had a board to report to, adding he could not conduct Cepep’s business through the media.
Questioned about the transparency of the award of Cepep contracts, Ford replied, “We will see.”
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and Communications Minister Stuart Young also failed to respond to Whatsapp messages sent by Guardian Media Ltd yesterday about the audio.
Several calls to the cellphones of the Government officials purported to have been involved in the alleged conversation had also gone unanswered yesterday before Hosein issued the statement.
But Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal, who served as line minister for Cepep for five years, said the practice of ministers and MPs submitting names of contractors was not new. He said during the People’s
Partnership administration and “over the years” MPs and government ministers had put forward recommendations to assist companies in their constituencies. However, he said no one made demands and all contractors were subject to the same evaluation process and had to meet all the necessary requirements before being selected for a contract.