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

[Dizzy28]

to be fair(?lol)

this might be the first true bobol scandal under this govt apart from ferris rentals which is more private deal
and a&v which prob been going on donkey years

Ferris as in Al Rawi or Ferries as in Cabo Star, Jean De La Vellette etc??

[pugboy]

Yeah I forget bout the ferries

[Dizzy28]

Yeah I forget bout the ferries

They have plenty bobol man. They just real good at hiding it unlike the yellow brigade. You don't thief the people of the nation since 1962 without developing a high competency for it.

One of my pardners (not see once in a while pardner, but went high school then UWI and lime every week kinna pardner) was one of the managers who got fired from SporTT. His stories of what was going on there is unbelievable.
Barrel Smith, Dinas and them boys run riot. People tend to only study infrastructure so MOWT gets a lot of attention wrt corruption but some of them other Ministries have big budgets so lots of scope for theifing.

[zoom rader]

If I don't know ...I don't know.
Im not interested in babbling like you about stuff that we have no facts on.
You and ZR do enough of that for 10 forums.

Let's see crops up

I like to imagine you typing that with a straight face, but I can't. Even you cannot be so obstinate. You jumped in feet first in the Ramlogan/Ramdeen thread with your guilty pronouncements, yet here you are all of a sudden when it is alleged PNM corruption, citing due process and ignorance.

You should cite your ignorance instead of so clearly demonstrating it.
Ad nauseam

So Redman, && and Ram guilty as PNM say?

As PNM say?
You eh easy at all.

I think that for them to pull the trigger and move on Ramlogan and Ramdeen they would have evidence that is hard to deny.
Simply due to the fact that these guys are senior attorneys, and heavy hitters in the industry and politics.
So I definitely think the state has the upper hand and should win.

This is Trinidad....so guilty is a long way off-they might cop pleas as well

They said the same about emailgate and look where that is today.

Remember voter padding before elections , PNM said it was injuns voter padding . It was a big hype at the time when in fact it was PNM ppl that was convicted years later. All cases against injuns was dropped but the damage was already done

As you said two senior attorneys, and heavy hitters in the industry and politics, they have to be real dumb to get caught up in this perceived mess. This looks like an emailgate to build support and confidence for the guidable public. The timings and raiding of Injun businessmen home again appears tobe propaganda as PNM wants to show that injuns cannot be trusted in politics and are involved in crime . PNM keeps repeating the same formula.

Drag peoples names through the mud build cases against them make them spend money while PNM spends nothing cause they have state to fight cases. Time it for elections so the not so bright public will think twice about voting for a perceived injun party .

As we all know the not so bright public tend tobe the folk that support PNM and sit on the fence

Well if senior people didnt get caught doing dotishness-what would you post about?

I really dont care who run the country-ONCE IT IS RUN WELL.

I dont care what the verdict is-ONCE IT IS REAL TRUTHFUL JUSTICE..(in this context)

I dont care who teif....ONCE WE CATCH,PROSECUTE, and JUDGE them FAIRLY.

Everything else is just old talk.

AGREED- but history and this board in general has shown that Racism and Blind tribal stupidity will always trump Politics in Trinidad. Far too many people throw their support behind their favorite PArty for no good reason other than "they dont want the opposition to win" attitude and look where its taken this country. ...straight down the gutters.

Racism is everything in trini and PNM are masters at using it

Raid Injun homes , charge Injuns, show the gullible public that you cant trust these people must less to vote for them .

As redman stated he don't care , all that means is that once PNM say its true then its the bible.

Remember the dog rice affair ?
Panday rape case?
Panday Bank account where they added up all the money in his account and said that's huge.
Emailgate?
There are many more but this is just a few

[pugboy]

internal ministry tiefing is normal ting for all the govts
and the PS and them does condone that nonsense

I was more referring to big new tiefing

Yeah I forget bout the ferries

They have plenty bobol man. They just real good at hiding it unlike the yellow brigade. You don't thief the people of the nation since 1962 without developing a high competency for it.

One of my pardners (not see once in a while pardner, but went high school then UWI and lime every week kinna pardner) was one of the managers who got fired from SporTT. His stories of what was going on there is unbelievable.
Barrel Smith, Dinas and them boys run riot. People tend to only study infrastructure so MOWT gets a lot of attention wrt corruption but some of them other Ministries have big budgets so lots of scope for theifing.

[The_Honourable]

Granted that there might have been strings attached

Govt blanked free US system for $43m Novo contract



EIGHT months before a deal was signed between the state and Novo Technology for a now questionable US$42.8 million, the TT Government was offered similar technology for free.

According to sources who spoke with Sunday Newsday on the strict condition of anonymity, the system was called the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) was offered to the Government and a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) was signed between the US and TT.

The MOI was signed by then National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Chargé d’Affaires John McIntyre on April, 21, 2017. The MOI was to “provide for the establishment of a state-of-the-art border control system that documents the arrival and departure of international travellers at airports and seaports in TT” according to a release on the US Embassy’s website.

In May, Cabinet appointed retired judge Rolston Nelson to investigate how the Airports Authority awarded a seven-year contract to Novo Technology Ltd for the airport passport processing kiosks at the Piarco International Airport. Communications and National Security Minister Stuart Young said then that the contract, awarded in December 2017, did not appear to follow the usual tendering process but rather went through a selective tender. The terms of the contract were also queried. While during negotiations the initial agreement was a payment of US$5.10 per passenger who used the kiosk, the final contract apparently stipulated that each month, the AATT would have to pay Novo for a minimum of 100,000 passengers – or US$510,000 for seven years. Novo would also own the kiosks so even at the end of the seven years, the AATT would get nothing. Young called the contract and the process “unacceptable.”

Young said then that the line ministry for the AATT, the Ministry of Works and Transport was unaware of the contract and believed it was signed under the National Security Ministry when Dillon was the minister. Sunday Newsday contacted Dillon when the issue was first raised and he said then it was being investigated and he would not be willing to comment.

Young added then that the biometric data was stored separate from Novo, however, Immigration did not have immediate access to it.

According to the Department of State International Affairs Function, Summary and Highlights, PISCES, is part of the US’ anti-terrorism programme along with the Terrorist Interdiction Program.

The two programmes, according to the document dated 2010, were to assist 18 partner nations. So far, partner countries are using the system.

Sunday Newsday asked Dillon about the MOI and why it was not actioned but he could not recall anything about it. He referred Sunday Newsday to the Permanent Secretary of the National Security Ministry.

At the signing of the MOI, Dillon is reported to have said: “This system will assist in our efforts to keep the travelling public safe, and distinguish legitimate travellers from those who might wish us harm.

“We intend to use this system to deepen co-operation with our international partners, but only under safeguards that protect the privacy of the citizens of TT. The signing of this MOI today, underscores the commitment of the Government of TT to enhance our national security and increasing collaboration with our international partners.”

The release on the Embassy’s page, headlined “New PISCES Agreement Between T&T and US Will Improve Border Security” stated that the system would increase the ability of the Immigration Division to document travellers’ identity. “Using the latest technology, PISCES will give the government the capacity to verify a traveller’s’s identity against both domestic and international databases. The system will also allow officials to identify individuals who might pose a threat to public security.”

The biometric data collected would have been owned by the Government, similar to what was agreed to between Novo and the State.

Chairman of Novo Glen Ramdhanie told Sunday Newsday that the biometric data collected from his company’s kiosks are stored and controlled by the National Security Ministry and his company had no part to play whatsoever with regards to the data. He denied that that his company was linked to another technological company of the same name based in Honk Kong adding that the word Novo is a popular Latin word which loosely translated to “new.”

Following the decision to investigate the contract awarded to Novo, the company issued a pre-action protocol letter to the Prime Minister on May 20. In the letter Novo is demanding that the Government rescind its decision to appoint Nelson to investigate how Novo Technologies won the contract. Novo is represented by Senior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, Jagdeo Singh, Karina Singh and Kiel Taklalsingh.

The Cabinet was given 14 days in which to give a “positive response” to Novo’s proposal to have the Cabinet decisions rescinded. Novo also requested all adverse findings against Novo, as referred to by Young at a post-Cabinet press briefing on May 9, to be withdrawn and it also wants copies of all reports and material considered by the Cabinet in arriving at its decision to appoint Nelson to investigate the award of the contract to Novo.

Sunday Newsday was told that Government responded to the pre-action protocol letter and attorneys representing Novo are expected to respond to that letter before any further action is taken.

Source: https://newsday.co.tt/2019/06/09/govt-b ... o-contract

[SR]

Wth dillon was doing all this time?
And since the biometrics colllected does not belong to the government but a private company.....it can be sold

[pugboy]

dillon seeming to be a lil suspect with this deal
using a system supplied by uncle sam will surely mean that all the data is being sent back to cia/fbi etc
just like what they does accuse huawei of doing

[bluefete]

Ent ah telling allyuh dat long time?

Re- USA: Do so ent like so.

dillon seeming to be a lil suspect with this deal
using a system supplied by uncle sam will surely mean that all the data is being sent back to cia/fbi etc
just like what they does accuse huawei of doing

[paid_influencer]

that article is revealing. it pretty much confirms biometrics as the driver behind the contract. nobody will admit it, but the US will now have data on everybody who passes through Piarco.

[maj. tom]

What makes you think it's not being done otherwise with whatever system their using? USA very much has instant access to any scanned passport in the world on every international airport scanning system. And trade agreements with Caricom would also ensure that data is willingly shared.

[zoom rader]

What makes you think it's not being done otherwise with whatever system their using? USA very much has instant access to any scanned passport in the world on every international airport scanning system. And trade agreements with Caricom would also ensure that data is willingly shared.

Yes this true and not only US, this is how they track terrorists ect. They know exactly where you have been in the pass and movements.

[SR]

Us jas your biometrics once you pass tru the us or canada anyways


Unless i read wrong the local company is the one who has the biometrics not the trinidad government

[paid_influencer]

Unless i read wrong the local company is the one who has the biometrics not the trinidad government

The local company says they have (sic) "no part to play whatsoever with regards to the data", and all the data is stored and controlled by the Ministry.

The Ministry has an agreement with the US to send biometric data to Trump's "Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System".

i.e., anybody passing through Piarco is getting their fingerprint and photograph sent to the US for "homeland security" reasons.

[SR]

I read somewhere that the government said they dont have the info and anyone passing tru will tell u after going thru the kiosk u still have to go to a coubter where your passport is scanned and info entered manually as well.

[paid_influencer]

I read somewhere that the government said they dont have the info and anyone passing tru will tell u after going thru the kiosk u still have to go to a coubter where your passport is scanned and info entered manually as well.

yes you just need to check in with uncle sam at the kiosk before going thru regular immigration

[Ben_spanna]

I dont ever use the machine when I come back home, go straight and line up and ah done...……..

[powered by ?]

The present Kiosks has biometric scanners, and the data is stored at National security.. The media is misleading as usual..

[zoom rader]

The present Kiosks has biometric scanners, and the data is stored at National security.. The media is misleading as usual..

Stop buying those non 99% newspaoer. It filled with trash programmed for you to think in different way.

[De Dragon]

Why is this news? Anything involving Dillon and the PNM will have theft in it. It is amazing that after he robbed an elderly man out of his house and home, and was ordered by a US court to pay back the money, he is still a Minister. But then again, what sheit I talking? Two Plate, Bamsee Squeezer, Wiggy, Arse Wari and JUHN Scarfy still there, so who is this dummy compared to them?

[zoom rader]

Why is this news? Anything involving Dillon and the PNM will have theft in it. It is amazing that after he robbed an elderly man out of his house and home, and was ordered by a US court to pay back the money, he is still a Minister. But then again, what sheit I talking? Two Plate, Bamsee Squeezer, Wiggy, Arse Wari and JUHN Scarfy still there, so who is this dummy compared to them?

Again Red and eleit are all silent on this one

[De Dragon]

Why is this news? Anything involving Dillon and the PNM will have theft in it. It is amazing that after he robbed an elderly man out of his house and home, and was ordered by a US court to pay back the money, he is still a Minister. But then again, what sheit I talking? Two Plate, Bamsee Squeezer, Wiggy, Arse Wari and JUHN Scarfy still there, so who is this dummy compared to them?

Again Red and eleit are all silent on this one

Red Plastic Bag busy advocating electricity rate increases right now because another of his idols Le Cunte, advocating it. Hadda show dem PNM handlers that yuh inna de dance yunno!