The Estate Management and Business Development Company Limited, an agency under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, says it is not aware of any family relationship between any current or past members of staff and recent contractors who were awarded contracts after the bid selection process.
In a Media release issued on Tuesday afternoon, which the EMBD said was aimed at offering factual information to address specific issues recently raised in the public domain, the EMBD said the employment of any member of staff at the company involves the standard practice of conducting thorough reference and background queries to verify information provided.
Jack Warner
In his contribution to the debate on the 2015 budget in the House of Representatives on Monday, Chaguanas MP and former Government national security minister Jack Warner claimed that the EMBD has bid-rigging of the worst kind, having awarded contracts to friends and family – this even as it has not done an audit for 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Warner also told the House of Representatives that there are two persons whose documents he claimed are forged.
The EMBD said discovery of fraudulent documentation or reference information is grounds for immediate dismissal.
The EMBD said it utilizes an approved Pre-qualified list of contractors and is not aware of any family relationship between any current or past members of staff and recent contractors who were awarded contracts after the bid selection process.