THE report investigating alleged wrongdoing on a number of projects at the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC), including the street-lighting programme, has been referred to the attorney general ’for his attention, consideration and action’, Public Utilities Minister Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.

The report was the result of an audit done by the Central Audit Unit of the Ministry of Finance.

Abdul-Hamid said with respect to the procedures, processes and compliance with established tender rules, the report and T&TEC’s comments were also referred to the auditor general ’for review, response and guidance’.

He said the report did not ’categorically and definitively take positions on wrongdoing of individuals’, and that is why it has been sent to the attorney general ’for review and guidance’.

’To the extent that any person may have been found or determined to be guilty of any improper conduct whatsoever, that is a matter to be finally determined by the attorney general’s office and, therefore, we have forwarded the report there,’ he said.

’The auditors did not take any definitive position on those matters, and so the competence in making that determination really resides outside of the Ministry of Public Utilities, and we felt that the attorney general was the best place to which that report could be forwarded.’

In respect of the issue of procedures and compliance with tender rules, he said, the auditor general’s department was the most competent department to make that final determination.

On reports that the son of a senior Cabinet minister was involved in the street-lighting programme and whether it was addressed in the report, Abdul-Hamid said he had seen no information or evidence of that in the report.

’I understand from the knowledge that I have that that seems to be entirely a fabrication. But once again, if the attorney general is able to find something to that effect, he will decide and proceed with it as is necessary. But as far as I am concerned, I have not been able to identify any basis for that allegation whatsoever.’

Abdul-Hamid said once the attorney general reads the report and the comments of T&TEC, he is free to send it on to the Director of Public Prosecutions or anywhere else. He said over the past two months, comments were prepared by T&TEC on the report as they are entitled to do. He said it was part of the auditing process that any body audited is entitled to make comments on the report.

Asked about the whereabouts of former T&TEC chairman Davanand Ramlal, Abdul-Hamid said Ramlal resigned from T&TEC months ago ’and in those circumstances, I am not obliged to maintain information on his whereabouts. He is an independent and free citizen and can travel as he pleases’.

On the issue of the decision not to have the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago approach the court to decertify the Communications Workers Union (CWU), Abdul-Hamid said Cabinet took a decision to ask the line ministers (himself and Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert) to communicate with the respective state agencies- TSTT and the Public Transport Service Corporation-not to go to court to decertify the unions.

’We had conversations with the respective chairman. By the time I spoke to the chairman of TSTT...TSTT had already taken the position. TSTT had already understood what the Government’s desires were as a result of the public utterances of Minister Mariano Browne (the previous day). So by the time I spoke to the chairman of TSTT, they had already taken action to withdraw,’ he said, conceding they obeyed Government’s directives very quickly.