Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan has said he is going to address the blackmail of contractors by criminals with the National Security Minister.
He said many of the ministry’s projects are being delayed because of this issue.
Speaking at the TT Contractors’ Association 55th Anniversary and Contractor of the Year Awards at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad on Saturday, Sinanan said the ministry had received too many complaints about contractors being blackmailed.
“I get complaints of projects being shut down by – I call them, I don’t know how to describe some of these people, but to me, I call them pests – coming to contractors and shutting down projects because they have to get money and stuff like that.
"I don’t think people understand that costs the taxpayers more, because projects are delayed. In some cases we have to give police extra duties, things like that, and that cost is billed back to the ministry.
“As minister, I have spoken to the Minister of National Security about this, and it’s something he’s paying a lot of attention to. The minister has given me clear directives and he has taken it up as serious responsibility that we need to stamp that out.”
Sinanan said the ministry needed the co-operation of the contractors.
“It’s easy for me to tell you, 'Don’t pay, don’t do this,' but then I know of instances where your employees are threatened, jobs are shut down and things like that.
"But we are working with National Security to assist you with that, because it’s something that’s really affecting us at the ministry. A lot of our jobs are being slowed down because of that, and bills are coming in for extra security to address that.”
Sinanan said the ministry would also assist contractors with the extra duties of moving equipment. He said he would be speaking to the National Security Minister
“It’s really ridiculous. If we have a crime problem in the country, and you look at the road network and see 20 pieces of equipment being moved, with police guards, around the country, I think we can do something about that.
"A lot of you have your own private security firms, so we can put something in place where you can move your equipment at certain times of the day without having to use the police. What we ask is that a lot of this equipment is not moved at peak period, as a lot of traffic on major roads is caused by moving equipment.”
TTCA founder Emile Elias said the issue of crime is affecting construction more than any other industry.
“We have to have 24/7 guards, we get death threats, and I think the association has to step out of its crease. It has a comfort zone, we have to think about that, our inner problems – but we have to think nationally now.
"We have to urge the government and opposition to stop playing the fool, get together, and create an agreement for parliamentary initiatives that would strengthen the powers of the police and the judiciary, and these amendments require a special majority, so it requires the co-operation of both sides of the Parliament.
“So I’m askin
