1 week ago
6
Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi claims Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) contractors were hired for nine years without Cabinet approval.
Speaking at a People’s National Movement meeting in Pleasantville last night, Al-Rawi defended his role in the CEPEP matter and accused his political opponents of targeting him for more than a decade.
His comments came days after the Registrar of the Supreme Court forwarded all documents in a CEPEP court matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). This, after Justice Margaret Mohammed ordered that files from a matter filed by one of over 300 fired CEPEP contractors be sent to the DPP for consideration of whether there needs to be a criminal investigation.
Addressing the allegations, Al-Rawi questioned why CEPEP CEO Keith Eddy was still on the job while over 11,000 CEPEP workers were fired.
He wondered whether there may be “personal vengeance” against him by Anand Ramlogan, SC, who represented CEPEP in the case, noting that he (Al-Rawi) had testified against Ramlogan in a witness tampering matter.
“The UNC has been calling my name for 15 years… Since when is it acceptable that you know Faris gave the evidence against Ramlogan in witness tampering and multiple statements in Vincent Nelson, and it doesn’t matter that the man who is calling my name is seeking vengeance?” Al-Rawi questioned.
Saying there had been no Cabinet approvals in CEPEP hirings for nine years, Al-Rawi added: “The CEPEP contractors have been hired since 2017. CEPEP has been hiring contractors for nine years with no Cabinet approval for nine years.”
Al-Rawi questioned whether Ramlogan had a personal motive for linking his name to the case.
He told supporters that while the DPP could receive the files, it was not within the office’s remit to conduct its own investigations.
“The DPP has no powers to investigate anything — he could get a file and send it to the police,” Al-Rawi declared.
He also criticised how the case was presented in court, alleging that key parts of a 2017 Cabinet note were left out.
Calling Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath “the little man,” Al-Rawi asked: “How on God’s Earth could you possibly believe that the letter little man waving would not show up that you left out the fourth power given in the Cabinet note? Nine years of hiring people, contractors, including three-year contracts without Cabinet authority beyond 2017.”
He chastised Padarath, saying, “I want to tell him, don’t confuse me with things you went through. Barry Padarath must know what a criminal investigation looks like,” Al- Rawi said, as he quoted a headline from multiple reports regarding a $3 million bank account owned by an alleged acquaintance of Padarath.
Last week, the case involving CEPEP and Edwards escalated following Justice Mohammed’s decision. The court stayed a claim brought by Eastman Enterprise Limited, pending further review and a referral to the DPP. Justice Mohammed ruled that the claim that the renewals were facilitated based on a fraudulent misrepresentation of Cabinet approval, allegedly given to Edwards by Al-Rawi, was sufficient enough to be probed by the DPP’s Office.
The case centres on the extension of 336 CEPEP contracts worth approximately $1.4 billion.
The court found that proper procedures outlined in the contract were not followed before filing the claim. The board note, central to the dispute, was allegedly prepared on Edwards’ instructions.
CEPEP’s lawyers also questioned the involvement of Al-Rawi in approving the extensions.
English (US) ·