Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley says people are concerned about how public funds were being spent because they are not being told the truth.
He said public enterprises were spending money and there was no "clear pathway" for the citizens to judge if they were in fact getting value for money.Rowley spoke in an interview after yesterday's Caribbean Public Procurement Conference session held at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain.
Rowley said due to a lack of transparency, poor procurement processes and evidence of widespread corruption in the construction sector "the public does not trust any Government expenditure, even when it is done right.""People don't trust the State anymore, because they are not getting the facts up right and up straight," he said.
Citing the example of state enterprises, Rowley claimed that these enterprises were spending money but there was no "clear pathway" for the public to judge if they were getting value for money.
He said wrongdoings of state enterprises often ended up being defended by members of the Government.
"People have gone sadly wrong and two Governments have collapsed because of wrong procedure," he said.The population, he said, had begun to distrust the entire Governmental system.Rowley said at every stage of spending Government money, something could go wrong if the proper procedures were not followed.
He said in terms of establishing procurement legislation, the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) scandal should be used as the bases of the legislation.Addressing reporters on questions on the UFF inquiry into Udecott, Rowley said the outcome came in a series of recommendations which was in the hands of the Government.