Secretaries Answers to Questions
FULL VIDEO
DESIGN BUILDING PAYMENT – BITUMEN
2. The Minority Leader asked the Chief Secretary and Secretary of Finance,Trade and the Economy:
“As it relates to your statement on the preliminary findings of the audit report, you stated that under the “Deign Building Finance” approach adopted by the previous Administration, the payment of $1,400.00 per tonne for bitumen to contractors was ‘inflated and corrupt.’ What therefore, is the Chief Secretary’s position on the payment of $2,700.00 per tonne for bitumen as included in the recent Letter of Award to the company engaged for the Pigeon Point road paving contract?’
Thank you, Madam Presiding Officer.
Madam Presiding Officer, the honourable Member is attempting to create a mosaic, by piecing together data from different independent arrangements.
The learned Member, in the question, is quoting $1,400 per tonne for bitumen specifically, and comparing that with $2,700 per tonne for the supply, placement and installation of asphalt mix and bitumen. So for the record, Madam Presiding Officer, we are comparing American apples with pommceytheres.
Sure, Madam Presiding Officer.
Madam Presiding Officer, the Chief Secretary in his previous utterances, indicated that to supply and place asphalt, the cost was fourteen hundred dollars ($1,400) per tonne. I have here in my possession, a proposal which was accepted by the Division of Infrastructure, where to supply, place and install asphalt mix and bitumen roadway, fifty (50) millimetres per tonne, is costing the taxpayers of Tobago twenty-seven hundred dollars($2,700), which is double the cost of what he said was inflated.
So my simple question to the Chief Secretary is, please explain,because for the layman, we want to know, how could fourteen hundred dollars ($1,400) be inflated and corrupt, and then you turn around and pay twenty-seven hundred ($2,700).Please explain to me how that is not even more inflated and even more corrupt.
Madam Presiding Officer, the answer remains the same. The honourable Member is attempting to deliberately conflate things. In fact, I spoke to bitumen per tonne, and I am saying that he is trying to compare fourteen hundred dollars ($1,400) that was paid per tonne for bitumen only, with twenty-seven hundred ($2,700) per tonne for supply, place and install of asphalt mix and bitumen.
Would the Chief Secretary be prepared to provide the comparative cost that he called our Tobago contractors corrupt, as compared to this very curious arrangement of twenty-seven hundred ($2,700) per tonne? Is he willing to provide the comparative cost so that the people of Tobago can really see who is comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges? Maybe the suit that he has on today probably has him a little bit...
Madam Presiding Officer, I thank God that most of Tobago is not as slow as some in this House today.I just provided the comparison in terms of data - twenty-seven hundred ($2,700) for supply, install and place of asphalt and bitumen as opposed to fourteen hundred ($1,400) per tonne for just bitumen.
... which was called ‘inflated’ and ‘corrupt’ and now there is a situation where we are paying twenty-seven hundred dollars ($2,700), which is double. So we are asking the Chief Secretary, because we want to get to the point of apples and apples - can he provide the situation that we as the layman Tobagonian, can understand what was the total cost before, because all he is giving me is ...
It is a different question, Madam Presiding Officer. Please follow with me. The bitumen cost that he called ‘inflated,’ is fourteen hundred dollars ($1,400). That is just for the pure bitumen alone. We now want to find out what was the cost paid to actually pave the road. That is what we are basically asking. You have the bitumen and the works to also go into it. What was the cost paid previously, so that we can now compare when you put the total cost together? It may be two thousand dollars ($2,000); twenty- five hundred dollars ($2,500) - so they would know whether the cost is comparatively close to what they are paying now, or if it is comparatively less, comparatively more.