As Minister of Works and Transport and being privy to all of the background details relating to the construction of the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension to Point Fortin, I can say without doubt that our presence this morning as we turn the sod for an additional package, marks monumental progress towards the completion of this highway whilst at the same time, protecting the interest of all the people of this country.
My intent is to reiterate that this Government remains committed to completing the SHHEPF Project since this was envisioned by a previous PNM government and the groundwork was laid to commence this project as part of our vision is to connect all communities, far and near and to advance the social and economic fortunes of this country through the construction of roads and highways.
Though I wish not to dwell on this, but it would be remiss of me not to mention the unfortunate circumstances of the recent past which Greedy and unscrupulous individuals took advantage of poor people by breaching their solemn trust to serve them without malice, favour or ill-will. But I need to remind you of how they turned this very project into a venture where only a few benefitted to the detriment of the people whose interest this project was intended to serve.
You see, this PNM’s philosophy is that development must be people centric and must always be pursued in the wider context of social and economic advancement for all. Therefore, in the national interest, we must bring completion to this project.
As Minister, I thank NIDCO for all the support being given to the Ministry and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, as we partner to make this highway a reality for all our people. Despite all of our challenges, we weathered strong head-winds and kept our focus and determination to get this project completed for our people.
As we steadfastly work toward the completion of all (12) twelve packages of the Priority link from Dumfries to Dunlop, there will be enhanced connectivity from San Fernando and environs to Point Fortin with major benefits on completion to include:
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Improved efficiency of the road network in the south-western areas of Trinidad.
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Improved road access and connectivity to Debe, Fyzabad, La Brea and Point Fortin as well as San Fernando, Gulf City and La Romain.
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Improved roadway infrastructure to cater for present and future traffic demands on the road network in these areas. This is considering residential, commercial and industrial growth.
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Construction of the La Brea Dock facilities and the completion of the MHI plant at La Brea.
Unfortunately, before all of these benefits are made possible for the people of South Trinidad, there are lingering challenges that confront us. We did not create these problems but we were placed there by the citizens to resolve them in their best interest. I refer here to the nightmare of land acquisitions which this Government inherited along the many other problems on this project.
Ladies and gentlemen, the land acquisition management for the construction of the highway under the previous government has caused extensive pain to the lives hundreds of families and has exposed the people of Trinidad and Tobago to litigation and costs to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Ministry of Works and Transport has now concluded a comprehensive report containing a list of recommendations which we anticipate will assist in bringing clarity to the land acquisition policy for the payment of all outstanding compensation to persons affected by land acquisition in this region. This report will be considered by Cabinet tomorrow.
The majority of the lands previously acquired for the construction of this highway were acquired outside of the protection of the Land Acquisition Act and via a process commonly referred to as “Private Treaty” negotiations and agreement. This means that negotiations for compensation to affected land owners were conducted outside of the Commissioner of Valuations Department. Unfortunately, this situation has placed NIDCO and the State in a perilous situation having now to expend significant financial resources in legal fees to defend those claims where claimants are arguing that they now have legitimate expectations to be paid what was agreed to under these private treaty arrangements.
To compound the situation, the previous government took the unprecedented decision to serve land acquisition notices to all occupants and owners of property that were located along the entire Right of Way of the highway inclusive of section 4 legal Orders which authorized the State to take possession of the lands within a stipulated six (6) months period.
Persons were required to retain their private valuers and legal representatives to submit claims on their behalf. Subsequently, the Right of Way was re-adjusted because of financial constraints and this decision has removed over 200 persons from the original design of the highway notwithstanding the fact that those persons already incurred significant personal expenses for retaining professionals to represent their interests and to submit claims.
To date, those persons lives remain in limbo because even though there was a realignment of the highway in many parts, the necessary notices were not served under the Land Acquisition Act to discontinue the land acquisition process and remove this prolonged veil of uncertainty over the lives of these citizens.
And that is not all. To compound an already complexed situation, the realignment of the highway has placed the State in a situation where over one hundred (100) properties that were acquired and paid for by NIDCO, are now no longer required for the completion of the highway. This situation has resulted in the State paying millions of dollars for properties it no longer requires for the construction of this highway. Monies that could have been utilized for the completion of the highway and for settling long outstanding compensation to residents in this parts of the country and who are yet to receive compensation for their properties.
Currently, the State is faced with several civil claims in the courts amounting to $345.5 Million Dollars for outstanding payments for land acquisition and this figure continues to climb on a weekly basis. Many of these claims were settled under questionable circumstances and this Government is now left with the task of having to decide whether to honour these dubious agreements or to review them in order to protect the State’s interest.
I will report for now that many of these claims are currently being reviewed because of serious concerns involving certain actions by public and private officials that were designed to inflate the value of lands and to pay public monies to persons for amounts not entitled under the Land Acquisition Act. These matters are receiving the attention of the necessary State agencies to determine whether there were breaches of the criminal and civil laws of the country and for the appropriate action to be taken
Another serious concern which arose during our investigation is the allocation of lands as part of the compensation policy of the previous government. I do not wish to say much at this point save to say that the evidence points to the fact that persons who were not entitled to be allocated lands were able to get their names on certain documents and were in fact allocated lands under a loose arrangement that did not protect the interest of the State. Also, many persons who have been allocated lands, have not paid a cent to the State even though they received those lands under concessionary arrangements.
Ladies and gentlemen, you will not be surprised to know that while all these bungling were taking place in the management of the land acquisition portfolio on this very project, over 17 million dollars were expended on Consultancy Fees for private land acquisition consultants who were hired to assist NIDCO to prevent the very things that happened.
One former Minister was hired and was paid 4 million dollars in legal fees in just over one year. This former Minister is now on the record of representing residents against NIDCO in the courts today even though she was previously retained by NIDCO in the said matters.
Today, I put you and the nation on notice that this person may well position themselves to be a key spokesperson on land acquisition matters in the sister Island as we move towards the construction of a new terminal for the ANR Robinson Internal Airport.
I wish to assure the citizens who were affected by land acquisition and whose matters remain outstanding and unresolved, that this Government will be interfacing with you very soon to commence discussions that are intended towards settling all outstanding land aquisition matters and returning your lives to certainty. I want to apologise for the manner in which your trust was breached by the previous government and I wish to assure you that as Minister of Works and Transport, I will do everything within the law to ensure that your lives are returned to normalcy.
Curepe Interchange Project
Recently, many of you may have seen some UNC disseminated mischief, lies and fake news about me receiving 100 million dollars in compensation for the acquisition of the Kaydonna property. My initial reaction is to ignore the UNC’s engine room of darkness and lies but in this era where social media is the first platform in which information is disseminated and where many vulnerable citizens can easily fall prey to the lies and misinformation, I am left with no choice but to immediately respond and clarify the air before it becomes a reality in the mind of citizens. Therefore, in case you are one of those who are interested in the facts, let me take this opportunity to bring some clarity.
The facts are as follows:-
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as one of the shareholder in a business which operated the Kaydonna facility, I have received not one cent from the State for the acquisition of this property. This matter is being handled by my company’s representatives and I play no role in these discussions. A decision was taken to allow the State to take possession of the property as was required under the Land Acquisition Act, whilst negotiations will be pursued with the State agencies on the question of compensation;
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The land upon which this business once operated was leased land from the State. The lease expired and was not renewed. Therefore, there is no question of compensation for land and not even an expectation;
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The negotiation is still being pursued with the Commissioner of Valuations, Commissioner of State Lands and the Ministry of Finance. I will always maintain an arms-length approach to this matter and if the UNC intends to score political points or make mischief on this matter, I assure them that they will be profoundly disappointed.
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The land acquisition process commenced in 2013 under the UNC Government long before I ever dream of being a Government Minister in a future PNM Government. This Government simply completed the acquisition process which the UNC Government started. So the insinuation by UNC operatives that this Government acquired the property so that I can benefit is laughable but downright rediculous.
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The UNC’s land acquisition budget for the Curepe project was approximately 150 million dollars. This PNM Government acquisition budget for the same project is 87 million dollars.
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The UNC’s cost for the construction of that Interchange was 200 million dollars more than the cost for which this Government awarded a contract for it construction. The country must ask the UNC who was going to benefit from this extra 200 million dollars. Is it the reason why the former PM, Kamla Persad Bissessar fired a young junior Minister for reporting to her that her senior Minister was interfering in the procurement process for the award of a contract for that project?
I remind the country of these facts because the UNC cannot stand in the face facts or have a conversation that is anchored in truth and facts. They try to hoodwink the population by spewing fake news and lies in the public domain hoping that the Government can become distracted and expend time to respond to lies and misinformation. It is regrettable but this has become our reality in Trinidad and Tobago. We must always be ready to dispel the fake news with facts and to remind the country of the persons who are behind the dumping of fake news and misinformation.
Ladies and gentlemen, when all is said and done, and the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension is successfully extended to reach Point Fortin, we in this Government and the people who travel to this part of the country will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Imagine that by the end of 2020, easier and more equitable access to work and school, and improved community life will become a reality for the people in surrounding communities.
Let us look ahead to the time when families that travel from their rural communities in Deep South can, at a quicker pace, reach San Fernando, the city centre and then go on to visit relatives further north, using a combination of improved highway and connecting roads. Travellers, moving from one district to the next can do so seamlessly and efficiently. This vision can only be realized through the ambitious and genuine commitment that the Ministry of Works and Transport and its valuable partners hold in our vision and policy to bring about sustainable transport systems for the Trinidad and Tobago.
Today’s sod turning for Packages 5D, 6C and 3A is a leap of progress and will continue in our diligent pursuit to one day in late 2020 deliver this completed highway product that has been needed for far too long. And we intend to do so without breaching our solemn trust with the people of this beautiful country.
Thank you.