FOR SALE: CITY PORT, WITH NO PROCUREMENT LAW

Could Chinese takeover make T&T another Si Lanka? 

WITH Parliament in its mid-year recess, the Government is moving ahead with privatisation of the port of Port of Spain, without procurement regulations in place. 

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley and his administration have disregarded repeated pleas for proclamation and implementation of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act. 

The most recent concerted appeal was made in late June by the country’s largest private-sector organisations. 

The American Chamber, Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Transparency Institute, and the Manufacturers’ Association made a joint demand that “the highest priority” be given to bringing the “important law” into operation. 

The organisations said the Government should provide “a definite timeline” for implementing the law and should “commit the necessary time and resources to ensure this is met”. 

But the Government brought an end to the first session of Parliament without introducing the regulations that would give weight to the procurement law.   

With the procurement structure still not fully in place, the Government is quickening the pace for privatisation of the country’s major port. 

An inter-ministerial committee has submitted a report, which has been turned over to Cabinet’s Finance and General Purposes Committee. 

There are now plans to issue Request for Proposals (RFP). 

This could mean new owners at the shipping gateway to T&T, which stands on 151 hectares of prime real estate. 

The divestment of the port was announced in the 2020-2021 budget of Finance Minister Colm Imbert, who said a new model of operation was being introduced. 

There has been widespread speculation that the port would be handed to the Chinese authorities. 

As part of its strategic global outreach, China has been building or taking over ports in various countries, with recent facilities being set up in Israel, Germany, Abu Dhabi, Greece, Sri Lanka, and Equatorial Guinea. 

The Asian powerhouse is also said to be focusing on ports in Cambodia, Tanzania, the Balkans, and neighboring countries. 

The shipping corporation COSCO is the Chinese operator on these projects, which fall under the Belt and Road Initiative or Maritime Silk Road, both of which oversee international infrastructural improvements. 

Trinidad and Tobago is strategically important to China’s expansionist designs because of its location close to Venezuela and the rest of South America. 

The Rowley and Xi Jinping administrations have been tightening diplomatic and economic relations. 

Within months of becoming Prime Minister, Rowley travelled to Beijing to become the first Caricom leader to sign the Belt and Road Initiative. 

China has taken control of a primary port in Sri Lanka. 

China Harbour and Engineering Company granted loans and other assistance to cash-strapped Sri Lanka for construction of the Hambantota port. 

When the island nation was unable to service the debts, China signed a deal for a 99-year lease of the port and 15,000 acres of land. 

The Sri Lankan port is mere miles away from India, which is considered an economic rival. 

New York Times, one of the world’s most respected newspapers, reported that this was “one of the most vivid examples of China’s ambitious use of loans and aid to gain influence around the world – and its willingness to play hardball to collect”. 

Procurement Regulator Moonilal Lalchan has said that he and his board are ready “but the regulations are the sticking points”. 

Earlier this year, Lalchan said the Office of Procurement Regulator identified 18 State companies that had questionable procurement practices. 

He stated that when his office gets the powers to conduct investigations, he would do so and file reports with the Director of Public Prosecutions. 

Lalchan described his office as “basically toothless to enforce proper procurement”. 

There is speculation that the PNM Government would replace Lalchan at the end of his term of office. 

There are several other dubious procurement practices with the use of public funds. 

Opposition parliamentarian Dr. Roodal Moonilal has called for an investigation into the procurement process for the 540-bed Central Block of Port of Spain General Hospital. 

Moonilal alleged that the closing date for public tenders was arbitrarily waived to permit the submission by a bidding company. 

The original cost of the project was $1 billion, but part of the venture has been completed. 

The tendering pertains to the completion of the construction works.