Corruption, waste, procurement breaches……….

HDC’s $163m a month contracts

BY KEN ALI

The Housing De­velopment Cor­poration (HDC) paid a staggering $163,160.918.22 to con­tractors a month under the PNM Government, with huge sums to com­panies linked to top par­ty officials.

Some contracts were issued without proper tendering proce­dures, or at over-valued costs, or other major irregularities.
And while the massive sum was dished out to contractors, HDC failed in its mandate to mass con­struct public houses.
A single official of the then-PNM administration, through rela­tives and friends, secured almost $300 million in contracts over the past 10 years.
Altogether, HDC spent $6 bil­lion over the period, the Corpora­tion built so few houses that the current backlog of applicants is some 225,000.
A sheaf of documents obtained by Sunshine Today newspaper re­veal that HDC had 332 monthly contracts for such functions as waste removal, building mainte­nance, elevator services, landscap­ing, and transport.
Services also included janitorial, drainage maintenance, grass-cut­ting and security.
Sizable sums were paid each month to every category of con­tractors.
Grass-cutting cost a whopping $42,716,731.32 a month, while $29,076,585 was paid monthly for security services.
There were 114 contractors do­ing maintenance work.
At seven village plazas, a to­tal of $9,938,972.71 was paid for landscaping and waste disposal services.
Elevator services cost $1,281,690.40.
Similar exorbitant payments even as HDC did not meet its pro­jected construction plans.
Experts confirmed that most of the costs were significantly higher than prevailing charges in the pri­vate sector.
Several companies were owned by close family members of then-Government ministers and PNM officials.
The duration of a number of contracts was extended without the requisite procurement procedures.
HDC’s Chairman Feeroz Khan slammed the extensive corruption and waste with the public’s purse.
Khan said the Corporation cur­rently has questionable bills worth some $600 million.
He confirmed that associates of a former PNM minister got around $300 million in contracts over the past decade.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were paid for poorly-constructed houses.
HDC is now targeting the con­struction of up to 30,000 houses over the next five years, which, if achieved, will be one of the best achievements in the public sector.
The Corporation has unveiled a new construction strategy of de­sign-build-finance contracts.
A revised qualification model is being introduced.
The waste and corruption is sim­ilar to that discovered at various other government agencies, corpo­rations, and State enterprises.
The minister identified with ties to HDC contracts has also been as­sociated with deals at other State agencies, including widespread purchase of State lands at pepper­corn rates.
The administration of Dr. Keith Rowley was reportedly aware of his widespread white-collar crimes but took no action.
The corrupt official remains a prominent figure in PNM activi­ties.
Some party insiders have ex­pressed distress that he is in the inner circle of current leader Pen­nelope Beckles-Robinson.