Businessman Emile Elias has donated $101,808.22 to the Joint Consultative Council and $101,808.22 to Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute.

The money comes from an award which was made to Elias by the High Court in his suit against former Member of Parliament Ganga Singh.

Speaking at a news conference at his NHIC office in St James on Wednesday, Elias said he hoped the JCC would use the funds to continue the public awareness programme that would demand enactment of the legislation to give effect to the White Paper on reform of the Public Sector Procurement regime. ’Everytime I read that Shanghai gets a $53 million contract at the airport, no bids...That is not how we ran this country from 1961, when the CTB was set up by Dr Eric Williams, which took public procurement into a formal structure. Now we have no structure, we do not know what is going on,’ he said, adding that Government ministries were handing out contracts like ’Diana jub-jub’.

Elias said he hoped that TTTI had raised public awareness about the need for greater transparency, accountability and good governance in both the public and private sector. He said he knew TTTI planned to establish an endowment fund with a view to making itself more independent and to promote the aims to TTTI. He said he was giving the money to TTTI in the hope that it would use it to strengthen its human and financial resources to make it better able to promote greater transparency, accountability and good governance.

TTTI head Victor Hart said he hoped Elias was setting a precedent which would be followed by other businessmen and other members of TTTI.

’Who knows there may be far more money in the future because if anybody speaks any foolishness about me or NH, they would end up contributing more money to TTTI and the JCC,’ Elias said.

He added that in the Parliament many people have spoken untruths about Cleaver Heights project and about phantom money.

’But if they step outside of the Parliament (and say untruths), here are the beneficiaries,’ he said, patting Hart and Riley on their backs.

Earlier this year, the High Court awarded Elias $200,000 plus interest. It also awarded $75,000 to NHIC and $270,000 for legal fees. Elias said Singh had paid a first installment and promised to pay the balance in September.