Executive Chairman of the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) Dr Carson Charles has described environmental activist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh as a street fighter. The Nidco top honcho also said Kublalsingh was in the political arena. One thing Charles was certain about, however, is that the San Fernando to Point Fortin highway is going full speed ahead.
Q: Dr Charles, of all the public offices you have held, is this one giving you the biggest headache? of
A:(Laughing at Nidco’s Port-of-Spain head office last week) I cannot say so, everyone provided a different challenge, right?
Is this the most challenging?
No. No. Not at all. I would say maybe there is a difference in that I am no longer 31, when I could have worked day and night without getting tired (laughing once more). My energy is probably about half of what I think I had at that time.
When this multi-billion-dollar project was thrust upon Nidco, did you think it would have been this problematic?
Well, I always expect challenges, but not these kinds of challenges. I expected challenges that had more to do with project management, managing the ambitious programme which the Government wanted to implement, and the age-old issue of how to execute major projects in the public sector within time and budget.
Given the rate at which the project is progressing, is it still on course, within budget, and the same completion date?
No. No. We would not make the same completion date we started off with. We had so many obstacles, so many hindrances, Kublalsingh being one of them (a cynical smile).
Dr Charles, before going further, we are not dealing with Kublalsingh today. I am kind of tired of this whole farcial business, right? But I might ask you one or two questions on the HRM later, ok?
Yeah I don’t mind. I would like to know what is his special diet (laughs), but I really don’t mind later on. The acquisition process was the most challenging because it was a first, trying to acquire so many properties. We have acquired approximately 360 properties, most of which were acquired by private treaty.
Last week, a resident claimed Government had not yet paid him compensation for relocating him?
(Sipping bottled water) We have not had people who come to an agreement and who can make that allegation, because once we have agreed on a price, which is processed and approved, the issue is resolved. But you cannot say you want ten million dollars for a two-bedroom house and we give it to you. The problem is where there is no agreement and they are insisting on outrageous value for their property. Until that is agreed, they would not be getting any money.
Clevon, there is lots of money to be had, so some people think that they could call for anything and they ought to get it…
That Nidco is a bottomless barrel?
Yes, that’s what you expect to get with a project of this size (seven billion dollars). But we cannot do that, otherwise how are we going to stay within the budget?
T&T is a land of mauvais langue, character assassination, and the talk making the rounds is that the only reason why the highway is being constructed on this route is because some unnamed people are expected to benefit unfairly…
Well, I am sure the residents of Siparia and Fyzabad, who would like to get out of traffic jams and who would like to see the area develop, they have a personal benefit, that is the personal benefit. But what is corruption?
The easiest thing to do is to throw accusations up in the air (gesticulating raised hand), right? You know you throw mud.
This is a project in which the procurement is out there for all to see, which was initiated by the PNM. Almost all the pre-processes were done by the PNM, and we took up the baton and this Government is building the project.
OAS provided the lowest tender, it is that simple, $5.2 billion at the time, and the present route was designed under the PNM government. It has always been so, and when you build a highway you want to build feeder routes for the people and the towns along the way, because you don’t build it only at the two ends.
(Raising his voice) So the people who are talking about the highway being constructed as it is being done, they can’t be serious. It has to cater for the main towns and villages along the way, including Debe to Mondesir, and I will be disappointed if the PNM should now get on the bandwagon of the HRM…deeply disappointed.
How many people stand to benefit from this project?
Approximately a population of 300,000, and right now it is about 35,000 traffic volume per day rising to about 50,000 as we are catering for the next 25 years. That is a large section of the country, with a population of some $1.2 million.
And what our consultants have found in looking at the accessibility index in the entire country, that is a measure of how accessible an area is, the area with the lowest accessibility in the whole country is the south west peninsula.
In effect, that area was chosen as a priority for such development?
Yes.
When did Dr Kublalsingh and his HRM get into the picture as a protester and not as well, you know what...? (Smiles)
He and his group made their first appearance in 2012 when he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, indicating their objection to the disputed segment. What he is trying now is a little trick, trying to latch on to the previous protest, the Debe to San Francique protest which was headed by Dr Moonilal, trying to latch on to that and saying that was the first incarnation.
(With a dismissive wave of his left hand) Rubbish! Kublalsingh and his group started off in 2012. They were nowhere around when the opportunities were granted under the rules of the EMA for they to object to the granting of the CEC...they were not there when we announced the project. But they should not try to say they were always there and the story is now history leading up to the present time…
Dr Charles, is there any way at all, even at this time, for any kind of meditation as he is now crying for?
Mediation? I am not sure what a mediation is? (Retrieving a file from a second desk in his office) We are in court, if you didn’t want to go to court you would try to do that before court, I suppose. But we are in court, and the court has ruled. The court did not rule arbitrarily, it ruled because we presented our argument as to why the project ought not to be stopped even temporarily, and the court accepted our argument.
Is this a sinister attempt, Dr Charles, by the HRM to manipulate those who do not know better?
Well, I wouldn’t say…wouldn’t say sinister or otherwise, I would just say that Kublalsingh is a street fighter, so he throws anything at you, he throws the fridge at you...anything. So he fighting you in court while fighting you with a so-called hunger strike on the side. And remember, he has already said if the Privy Council rules against him, he doesn’t care about that. But he is not withdrawing the matter from the Privy Council. Still fighting… (chuckling). He is fighting in the media...everywhere.
You seem to have carefully studied this man, Dr Charles?
Kublalsingh is linking up with political groups, so he is fighting with politics, talking about corruption, and I am not sure as yet what is his goal. And now, because we have reached Penal, he cannot be talking about wetlands. He has an anti-development philosophy and doesn’t want the people of Siparia and Fyzabad to be given modern facilities.
Finally, Dr Charles, do you believe this impasse is now at end?
No. I can’t say that. I do not know what could cause Kublalsingh and his group to find another cause (laughs).
Another farce?
Well he is good at it, clearly better than anybody else. But a general election is coming up next year, and you can never tell…Well he is good at it, clearly better than anybody else. But a general election is coming up next year, and you can never tell…