THE Commission of Inquiry into the Piarco airport project continued at the Caribbean Court of Justice, Port-of-Spain last week. The total number of sittings so far are 65.
Following is a review of last week’s hearings.

Monday

Did Jearlean John act illegally?

DID former Transport Minister Jearlean John usurp the authority of Birk Hillman Consultants (BHC) and cause Cabinet to illegally approve funds for the VIP lounge at Piarco Airport?

That is the question Commissioners enquiring into the Piarco project was pondering on Monday and will continue to consider as the inquiry continues. In addition, the Commissioners will consider whether to surcharge John for the cost of the $11.1 million lounge.

Chairman Clinton Bernard said so on Monday when the Ministry of Works and Transport client representative Peter Cateau continued his evidence.

Cateau, led by attorney Theodore Guerra, SC, reiterated that under the directions of John the lounge was hastily constructed.

He said provisions for design, furnishing and fitting the lounge were originally under the BHC contract but because John found their design to be costly, she instructed NIPDEC to take over the scope of work and go out for tender.

Cateau said he was left “in the dark” about the project when he should have been consulted. He said he paid contractors Foster Inniss Limited with Cabinet’s approval in June 2001 based on a note he sent to Cabinet.

Asked under whose authority he did so, Cateau said under John’s authority. Guerra wondered why, especially since Cateau was the client representative under the BHC/NIPDEC contract. Guerra said the lounge project was John’s project and he did not know why she didn’t pay for it.

That prompted Bernard to point out that it was a recommendation “we may have to consider” under the Exchequer and Audit Act.

Tuesday

Short sitting — No witnesses, no live coverage

NO witnesses and no live coverage resulted in a short ten-minute sitting of the Inquiry on Tuesday.

At 11 am, Commission Chairman Clinton Bernard announced that an electricity outage in the Couva area, from where the satellite transmission for TIC Channel 4 originates, was the reason for the station’s inability to carry live coverage of the hearing.

In addition, representatives from the Joint Consultative Council (JCC), Winston Riley, Brian Lewis and Emile Elias, who were expected to give evidence, were unavailable.

Attorney for the JCC Jason Mootoo and his assistant Diana Clyne, told the Commission that Riley and Lewis were attending an important seminar and Elias was out of the country on personal business. Mootoo asked that the JCC be relieved until next Wednesday.

Bernard agreed, noting that without live coverage the country would miss a lot and therefore the sitting had to be adjourned.

Wednesday

Tenders Board Chairman laughs at procedures on airport

DIRECTOR of Contracts and Chairman of the Central Tenders Board (CTB), Merlyn Marcano, on Wednesday seemed amazed and couldn’t help laughing at the processes employed by the Airports Authority (AA) regarding tenders on the Piarco airport project. She expressed disagreement with the way things were done.

Marcano disclosed that both the Authority and NIPDEC disregarded Cabinet’s directive by not inviting a representative of the CTB to attend meetings of the respective tenders committee.

Marcano was giving evidence at the Inquiry. Marcano has been the Chairman of the CTB for the last 11 years. She said the CTB played a substantial role in the selection of tenders on projects undertaken by ministries.

Asked if there was ministerial interference in the process, she said in her experience there has never been interference because the CTB was very independent.

She said, however, Cabinet had the power to bypass the CTB. She said the CTB never entertained sole tendering processes, except in certain instances where it involved dealing with a supplier or patent. She said in other instances whenever sole tendering was suggested concerns would be expressed. She could not recall any specific projects where sole tendering was done.

Thursday

John’s Pizza favour

FORMER Transport Minister Jearlean John approved the relocation of air-conditioning units from one part of the new terminal building to that of the Pizza Boys main restaurant, located at the second floor in time for the May 25 opening of the terminal.

The cost of those works amounted to over $1 million.

John is now the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pizza Boys Group. John was quoted in a newspaper article as saying that owner of Pizza Boys, Mario Sabga Aboud offered her the job the same night President Arthur NR Robinson appointed Patrick Manning as Prime Minister.

In the newspaper article, John described the job offer as “extraordinary because I didn’t know him well, but he saw me at the airport and he knew the struggle I had.”

The disclosure at Thursday’s sitting of the Inquiry will result in yet another matter for the Commissioners to consider involving John. This time, they are to conclude if John’s action was a favour to Pizza Boys.

John’s action was made known by Kenneth Critchlow, a NIPDEC Programme Manager who was a project manager on the airport project.

Critchlow read a letter dated April 26, 2001 to him from Matthew Leiner of Birk Hillman Consultants (BHC).

The letter stated that John’s approval for the temporary use of some of the existing air handlers for the large Pizza Boys restaurant, was brought to BHC’s attention. The Pizza Boys restaurant is located on the second floor of the terminal building.

BHC recommended that the air- condition units to be used were to be taken from the second floor. Another letter read by Critchlow was one from Thomas Peake and Co Ltd, also dated April 26, 2001 to NIPDEC.

That letter stated that the price for the removal of the AC units to be located to the Pizza Boys outlet would cost $875,900 plus VAT. There were to be additional costs for other works.