The Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) has repeated its call for the immediate publication of the full report of the Bernard Commission into the Piarco Airport scandal.

The JCC has also called on the People's Partnership administration to implement the Uff Report recommendations now as promised in the 2010 election campaign. 

Late on Tuesday, the group issued a statement related to the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act 2011.

The Government convened a special meeting of Parliament yesterday to repeal the August 30 proclamation of the Section 34 provision of the Act which could allow United National Congress (UNC) financiers Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson to escape prosecution.

Galbaransingh and Ferguson are charged with bid-rigging and conspiracy to defraud the government during 1997 to 2000. The charges arose out of the Piarco Airport Terminal construction project.

In its statement signed by JCC president Afra Raymond, the group said it "completely rejects the position of the Minister of Justice that the Joint Select Committee on Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property is handling that implementation process. Only one of the 91 recommendations of the Uff Report has any relation to the work of that Joint Select Committee, so those need to be implemented now."

It added: "If this administration is serious about attacking the wave of white-collar crime which is drowning our country, the Uff Report recommendations will be implemented now."

The Bernard Commission was an expensive and critical Enquiry into the Piarco Airport scandal which revealed evidence of massive corruption, bid-rigging, bribe-paying, back-fitting and other practices which amounted to a series of criminal assaults on the nation's Treasury, the statement said.

"The JCC played a leading role in calling for and submitting evidence to the Bernard Commission which exposed abuse of power and corrupt practices in some of the highest offices in our country. There have been high-level convictions and imprisonments arising directly from the Bernard Commission, yet there has been no action on effectively prosecuting the accused parties in our own Courts," it said.

The JCC said it was renewing its call for the immediate implementation of a new public procurement system to eliminate the waste and theft of public money. 

"This administration campaigned on a promise to implement the new Public Procurement system within one year of the May 2010 election, so we are way overdue for those new laws," it said.

"If this administration is serious about attacking the wave of white-collar crime which is drowning our country, the draft bill on public procurement and disposal of public property as prepared by the Private Sector/Civil Society group will be immediately tabled in Parliament for debate and enactment," the JCC added.