CALL FOR PROBE INTO $B TAMANA CAMPUS

AN employee of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) has called on President Christine Kangaloo to set up a commission of enquiry into the institution.

Phillip L. Robinson wants the probe to include the conduct of UTT’s Board of Governors, China Jiangsu International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group Ltd., and former employees and consultants at the Tamana In-Tech Campus.

Robinson made a sweeping number of allegations of financial impropriety at the incomplete campus.

He also protested that since his appointment on October 3, 2013, “the university has refused to say what the level of the position was.”

He said that through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), UTT “has disclosed that persons have held senior positions and have been paid big money for duplicated duties and responsibilities of my job description without a list of duties or job description.”

He said he is a qualified economic and human resource professional and “a very experienced high education administrator.”

He listed several alleged irregularities with respect to construction and administration at UTT.

Robinson said he is guided by UTT’s code of conduct.

In his letter to Kangaloo, he said construction of the Tamana Campus began in January 2008 at a budgeted cost of $975.5 million and a three-year completion date.

He said there have been “significant variations to the project without board approval.”

He made a series of claims about cost variations, sub-standard or incomplete works, and the performance of certain contractors and consultants.

Robinson termed the identified issues as a “very disturbing chronicle of events” and alleged “a concerted effort to conceal the misguided actions of a few.”

He claimed there was “a sham restructuring exercise to give the illusion that overstaffing was the primary reason for the university’s financial difficulties.”

 According to Robinson, since 2015, $336 million has been diverted into the construction of the project instead of paying salaries, thus placing employees in financial peril.

In addition, he contended that the academic integrity and accreditation of the institution “hang in the balance” because of “the compromised quality system and a dysfunctional structure.”

President’s House acknowledged receipt of Robinson’s letter.

In February 2021, then-Government Minister Clarence Rambharat told Parliament that the campus would be completed in 2022.

Rambharat said the initial agreed cost was $1.5 billion.

He said that 89 per cent of the project has been completed.

The minister said the Government did not plan to terminate the contract with China Jiangsu.

The campus was conceptualised to become the largest science and technology park in the Caribbean.

In 2017, the Government stated that it was seeking funds to complete the construction of the project.

The sprawling campus remains incomplete.