Joint Consultative Council for the construction industry (JCC) president Afra Raymond says the JCC is concerned about the financial position of the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) and the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). Raymond made the remarks yesterday at a news conference after a meeting with Udecott's chairman and HDC managing director Jearlean John at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain. "This represents a challenge going forward," Raymond said. "We (JCC) do not have any accounts for both state enterprises, so we don't know their financial health, what they can borrow and how far they can go.
"It is a fact that JCC members are owed significant amounts by those companies and they need to work in partnership with the JCC to execute future projects. "I do not believe the current financial picture of the companies looks good." he said. Raymond said the JCC received assurances from John that work would be done to put the necessary financial safeguards in place and to ensure that the companies' accounts were in good order. He said there needed to be involvement of consultant to provide options to the stakeholders in major outstanding construction projects, including the Government, to decide their future.
Raymond said a major concern of the JCC was the fact that the Public Service had been denuded of professional support. "Our research has shown that our country is developing with bigger, more expensive projects and the quality and quantity of persons within the civil service to advise on the projects and programmes is diminished," he added. He said this had a sharp effect on companies such as the HDC and Udecott. Speaking to reports after the closed door meeting, John said the meeting was a success. "A vibrant and robust partnership between the JCC, Udecott and the HDC is needed to collaborate and share views on the construction industry," she said.