After years of fighting with major stakeholders in the local construction sector, Prime Minister Patrick Manning in a major turnaround, has announced that Government was not ’looking for any war’ and that it ’wants to...and is determined’ to work with the (local) construction sector.

Manning was speaking at the seventh meeting of the PNM’s public education series which was held at ’the College’ of the Wendy Fitzwilliam Boulevard, Diamond Vale, on Monday night. Manning prefaced his address by saluting Diego Martin’s ’great politicians’ and cited former Ministers Ken Valley, Keith Rowley (Diego Martin West MP) and Works Minister Colm Imbert, Diego Martin East MP. Imbert was the only one on the podium. Rowley was in the audience and Valley is at a private hospital recuperating from surgery.

Manning said when the economy was buoyant and the local construction industry was working, Government brought in foreign contractors who introduced new ways of doing things. ’Now that the economic situation has turned around somewhat, I am in a position to say to the construction industry tonight that the Government wants to work with you. The Government is determined to work with you,’ he said.

Manning asserted further : ’The dispute that has erupted between UDeCOTT and others (the local construction sector) is nothing more than an attempt by UDeCOTT to bring about change in our society, change in the construction sector.

That is what it is all about. It is not business as usual. So we are saying to the construction sector tonight, the Government is determined to work with you; as the economic situation has now changed, we are anxious to get everybody together and let us agree on how we should proceed, because the people of Trinidad and Tobago deserve much better.’ He added that he had no doubt that Government and the local construction sector would come to an early resolution.

Manning said the local construction industry had been responsible for building the country-the schools, the highways, etc. He said Government as a consequence had confidence in this country’s local engineers, architects, quantity surveyers. ’But as the world changes, unless we change we are going to be left behind,’ he said. He said the Government was no longer prepared to allow ’some practices that have developed in the construction industry to guide what happens in this country’. Said Manning:

’Unfortunately we have come to a place where we are paying too much for the services that we get, we are not getting those services on time, and there are occasions where big questions marks arise out of the quality (of the work). (But) We are not looking for any war.’