In the interest of transparency and accountability, the Government must immediately respond to allegations by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley of bid-rigging in the award of a contract for the construction of the Beetham Water Recycling Plant.This is essential since the project involves millions of taxpayers' dollars, and if Dr Rowley's allegations are correct or go unchallenged, has the potential to send T&T plunging further down in the Global Perception of Corruption Index.
There are enough close connections between the key players to raise concerns about the jobs-for-the-boys syndrome that seems to be deeply embedded in T&T's political culture.There is no doubt about the importance of this project, which involves building a plant to treat polluted water and make it usable for industrial activities at Point Lisas.
According to Dr Rowley, Super Industrial Services (SIS) has been awarded the billion-dollar contract by the state-owned National Gas Company (NGC), although that company's bid was $400 million higher than that of the other bidder on the project, Atlatec, a subsidiary of Mitsui and Toyo Engineering of Japan.
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