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Padarath: CEPEP not a political tool, must be reformed

Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath said CEPEP must be reformed into a sustainable entity that empowers the people and communities of Trinidad and Tobago. He added that a new process for contractor registration will be implemented in the near future. Speaking at a media conference at the UNC’s headquarters on Mulchan Seuchan Road, Chaguanas, he defended the termination of CEPEP contractors on Friday, which left over 10,000 workers unemployed. Asked whether it would not have been better to audit the programme and retain the contractors to avoid displacing so many workers, he said: “The contractors are the people that CEPEP engages; it does not engage 10 or 11,000 employees. We have no intention of engaging ghost employees, as occurred under the PNM. We will not engage in the political prostitution of CEPEP like the PNM did. We conducted the audits, and that is why I can say this morning that, in the last six years, no financial statements have been submitted by CEPEP. They have been flagged by the Central Audit Committee of the Ministry of Finance for their hiring practices, among other issues. “Our mandate on April 28 was to bring in good governance, and therefore CEPEP workers within the company—not the 11,000—also have a responsibility to ensure that the company is run effectively, efficiently, and within the confines of the law. You are now asking me to put in place a system that may very well be illegal under this entity.” Asked about arrears in NIS payments for workers, he said contracts had been awarded to companies without VAT registration. “We reviewed what was happening in CEPEP regarding NIS, health surcharge, etc. I can say with certainty that even that was politically influenced, where a senior PNM campaign manager received a multimillion-dollar contract to administer how NIS and so on were to be rolled out. Every aspect of the company was politically prostituted.” Padarath said there is a process for the registration of new contractors. “CEPEP, as a company, will issue notifications through the usual channels regarding the registration process for new contractors. I won’t go into detail this morning, except to say the country will be advised of that process in due course. It will be advertised very shortly and will involve a transparent process for contractor selection. “CEPEP stands for community enhancement, and that means both contractors and workers must come from within the communities. It cannot be that contracts go to MPs and government ministers, as occurred under the previous administration.” Asked about a statement by Community Development and Culture Minister Michelle Benjamin that fired workers would be rehired, Padarath said: “The government hires contractors, and they (workers) can be hired from within the community. That is why it’s called community enhancement. Contractors will obviously be mandated to hire people from within their communities.” Padarath said there had been no proper oversight with respect to procurement, building rentals to family members of PNM ministers, and contracts awarded without proper recommendations. “Under my watch as line minister, CEPEP will not be a PNM party group. It must return to its core mission and evolve into a more sustainable programme. We intend to partner with ministries such as Health, Education, Housing, and Community Development. CEPEP must be a transitionary organisation that helps people move into more sustainable jobs. We have been reviewing its activities and mandates.” He said CEPEP should reflect both community enhancement and empowerment. “Therefore, when I hear about the mothers who have to put food on the table and buy schoolbooks, this is why the government is focused on initiatives like the laptop programme and affordable food prices. “It’s not about having people locked into a mindset of cutting grass for the rest of their lives—it’s about empowering them and their children to achieve a better way of life, not using CEPEP as a political pawn, where people are sent to political meetings, wear red jerseys, and wave a balisier for a meagre fee at the end of the month, while senior party officials earn hefty salaries on the backs of the people of TT.” He said the party is researching the contractors, including reviewing records from the Companies Registry. The company will also be audited, as no audited financial statements have been submitted since 2018. He noted that the Finance Ministry’s Audit Committee flagged the company for its hiring and human resource practices and reiterated that he would not allow workers to be used for political expediency. The post Padarath: CEPEP not a political tool, must be reformed appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.