Kiosks concern - investigation launched into contract costing taxpayers $300M

[stikid09]

Former judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Rolston Nelson, SC, has been appointed to investigate the circumstances surrounding a contract for immigration kiosks at the Piarco and ANR Robinson airports, that will cost the state US$43 million (approx TT$300M) over 7 years.

The contract is between Novo Technology Incorporation Limited and the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (AATT) and caters for the provision of kiosks that allow passengers to scan their passports at the machines and reduce the time spent in immigration lines.

The contract was signed in December 2017 and Minister of National Security and Communications, Stuart Young said a supplemental contract was signed in March 2018.

According to Minister Young, both contracts were signed by the AATT and Novo without the Cabinet being aware of them.

Young said that a Cabinet sub-committee appointed to look into the matter - Finance Minister Colm Imbert, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan and Young - found that the award of the contract did "not appear to have followed the usual tendering process".

"It appears at highest to have been procured as a result of a selective tendering process," he told Thursday's post-Cabinet news conference.

Young said the terms of the contract also raised a red flag.

He told the media that regardless of the number of passengers passing through Piarco on a monthly basis, the contract binds the AATT to a flow of US$5.10 per passenger.

That amounts to US$510,000 (approx TT$3 million) a month and the contract continues for seven years, amounting to roughly US$43 million.

"We have serious concerns with this type of spending of taxpayers' money," Young said.

The minister added that the AATT did not have anything in place to cover the financial payments and that the Ministry of Works and Transport only learned of the contract when the AATT approached the ministry for assistance in making the payments.

The Cabinet sub-committee recommended and the Cabinet approved the following:

(i) that the Ministry of Works and Transport seek and obtain independent legal advice on the contract and the obligations between the AATT and the state. That process has already started;
(ii) that the Ministry of Finance send in the Central Audit Committee to look at the contract. That report will come back to Cabinet sub-committee for further recommendations;
(iii) that the Cabinet considered that an appropriate investigation into the contract needs to be done urgently and with the greatest expediency. As a result, Justice Rolston Nelson, SC, has been appointed as the independent investigator into the procurement of the contract awarded to Novo and the circumstances leading up to the contract.

Justice Nelson has been asked to submit a report to Cabinet in two months.

The state will also supply him with a junior counsel of his choice and a secretariat from the Ministry of Works and Transport.

The automated passport system (kiosk system) was launched at the Piarco International Airport on July 16, 2018 as a pilot project.

At the time it featured 12 kiosks and was tested for two weeks before being unveiled fully to travellers on July 28.

The system required users to scan their machine-readable passports, have their fingerprints scanned and their photographs taken.

Users who were cleared for entry were then issued with a slip with their photograph which was collected by a designated immigration officer.

Travellers would then be permitted to proceed towards duty-free shopping or directly to the baggage claim area and the Customs and Excise checkpoint.

Those flagged for a secondary immigration check would receive a slip with a cross over their photograph and would then be directed to an interview with an immigration officer.

The entire process was expected to take a little over a minute from start to finish.

Asked about the cost of implementing the system, the then National Security Minister Edmund Dillion referred the question to the authority’s general manager Hayden Newton.

Newton did not give a figure, but said: “What I can tell you is that the benefits far outweigh the costs.”

- by Sampson Nanton

Source: http://www.cnc3.co.tt/press-release/kio ... ayers-300m

[Monk BANzai]

lulz.... Vision 2020. Cut all unnecessary ppl from we life!! Young fellas too inno!! smh...

Fresh lawyers getting called to the Bar tomorrow (Friday)...

[Slartibartfast]

Wow.... so $30 mil got spent so far and all they have to show for it is 12 kiosks that they don't even own.

Hayden Newton done f*cked up. Lol at getting caught by asking for money to continue paying for this "service" though.

Good response by the cabinet so far. Let's hope this doesn't get pushed aside or forgotten like the Sportt iBeam Interact scandal.

[sMASH]

wtf@this country....

[De Dragon]

Donald Modeste look like he borrow he father suit for dat pic..........

[powered by ?]

Mind you, they already too government to court over unpaid contracts and won a hefty sum, I can see that happening all over again..

[Redman]

This is the company that provided the platform for the food cards

[shake d livin wake d dead]

question is which one ah dem from the NOVO team have d link with d govament

[pugboy]

them fellas dont even look like they could pass a basic microsoft exam

thought things like this need to go to tender

[Ben_spanna]

I really hope that when Trinidad becomes the true ch1t hole that we seem destined for that I will be a refugee in some other country...…………….

[pugboy]

a bunch of technicians yes

[bluefete]

So Novo is part of One Caribbean Media and OCM is partly owned by GORTT.

It is clear that someone in the PNM did not get their kickback and buss de mark.

BTW - Is Kamala fault!

[maj. tom]

^ So the way Trinidad has suddenly become the most law abiding and anti-corruption place overnight, we can expect arrests to be made soon. And arrests to be made in the ferry scandal. On at least charges of conspiracy and fraud in the tendering process. Better arrest them first, then check the DPP on what charges can be laid actually.

Yes, Trinidad is now a better place thanks to the anti-corruption PNM.

[zoom rader]

^ So the way Trinidad has suddenly become the most law abiding and anti-corruption place overnight, we can expect arrests to be made soon. And arrests to be made in the ferry scandal. On at least charges of conspiracy and fraud in the tendering process. Better arrest them first, then check the DPP on what charges can be laid actually.

Yes, Trinidad is now a better place thanks to the anti-corruption PNM.

Only non PNM injuns does get arrested and harassed bro.

PNM takes care of the their own

[K74T]

Da Sailesh fella is nuh de same one who does post in de Sunday lunch thread?

[VexXx Dogg]

Smells fishy. No wait, that just the scent of fresh bobol.
HOW TF they could award contract jusso?
Doh blame the tech company. Blame the AATT management who sign off on it.
Jail hadda make.

[ADONI]

PNM just throw a small bone, to say even they known for corruption as well and doing something about it.

[Dizzy28]

AATT's board is chaired by a real stalwart of the IT industry too who should know better....Keith Thomas who used to head Illuminat

I think this is one of those scenarios where Faris's intended Proof of Benefical Ownership as opposed to listed directorship law will be useful. Who actually getting the monies from the proceeds of that company. It surelry wouldn't be those plebs we seeing on the company website.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

^ So the way Trinidad has suddenly become the most law abiding and anti-corruption place overnight, we can expect arrests to be made soon. And arrests to be made in the ferry scandal. On at least charges of conspiracy and fraud in the tendering process. Better arrest them first, then check the DPP on what charges can be laid actually.

Yes, Trinidad is now a better place thanks to the anti-corruption PNM.

DPP does only get certaim files...look at the av drilling case

[Redman]

Smells fishy. No wait, that just the scent of fresh bobol.
HOW TF they could award contract jusso?
Doh blame the tech company. Blame the AATT management who sign off on it.
Jail hadda make.

Well is 5USD per passenger competitive?
We getting value for money?

is this a red herring?

[Dizzy28]

Smells fishy. No wait, that just the scent of fresh bobol.
HOW TF they could award contract jusso?
Doh blame the tech company. Blame the AATT management who sign off on it.
Jail hadda make.

Well is 5USD per passenger competitive?
We getting value for money?

is this a red herring?

In yesterday's post cabinet press conference Young said the price is twice as much as Barbados pays for the same service.

[Slartibartfast]

Smells fishy. No wait, that just the scent of fresh bobol.
HOW TF they could award contract jusso?
Doh blame the tech company. Blame the AATT management who sign off on it.
Jail hadda make.

Well is 5USD per passenger competitive?
We getting value for money?

is this a red herring?

In yesterday's post cabinet press conference Young said the price is twice as much as Barbados pays for the same service.

Why must the kiosks be rented though? Cant they just buy them? I doubt thise kiosks worth that much anyway.

[Redman]

Given what NOVO does- it would be also the data management and info flow.

Has to be networking and Security issues as well.

[Rovin]

gr8 iz dee balisier & it shall prevail ....

[zoom rader]

Given what NOVO does- it would be also the data management and info flow.

Has to be networking and Security issues as well.

And you support this right?

[Ben_spanna]

And on the opposite of this card is the previous admin , member who was recently arrested for supposedly receiving over $ 1 BILION in fees! so you unc supporters, hush allyuh a55 ! neither party is any better.... we the people are still the jacka55es being whipped ……………………….

[zoom rader]

And on the opposite of this card is the previous admin , member who was recently arrested for supposedly receiving over $ 1 BILION in fees! so you unc supporters, hush allyuh a55 ! neither party is any better.... we the people are still the jacka55es being whipped ……………………….

He was charged for conspiracy and not receiving 1bill as you stated.

[pugboy]

How much mr Rolston Nelson SC
Getting paid for this bobol finding job?

It’s a bit ironic that the qc/sc lawyer in Anand case is also named Nelson

[Slartibartfast]

Given what NOVO does- it would be also the data management and info flow.

Has to be networking and Security issues as well.

And how is that worth $3,000,000 a month exactly? Surely there must have been a more cost effective way to achieve the same end.... or am I missing something?

[De Dragon]

Given what NOVO does- it would be also the data management and info flow.

Has to be networking and Security issues as well.

And you support this right?

Getting Redman, shogun, elitecorolla, Tokesy and Zitty to admit that the PNM actively engages in corruption is like pulling teeth. Look at the question Redman asks knowing that the tender process was bypassed