UWP Alleges That Skerrit Awards Juicy Contracts to Friends and Relatives

The United Workers Party (UWP) alleged that PM Roosevelt Skerrit only awards juicy state contracts to his cronies and relatives. The PRO of the party, Steve Benjamin, said the DLP administration is riddled with cronysm to the detriment contractors who are not close to government quarters. Benjamin said the administration does this through “sweetheart deals” that unfavoured people find confounding.

To drive home his point, Benjamin referenced the recent blockade mounted by truckers in Wesley to demand that MMCE must employ them for the construction of the proposed international airport in Wesley. The truckers staged a protest stating that they have been sidelined in contract awards and that foreign contractors do not hire local workers for major projects.

Following the blockade of the road leading to the airport road with their trucks, MMCE management agreed to hire the truckers to carry out some works when the construction of the airport begins. The truckers protest in Wesley was led by Vaughn Dodds, who expressed satisfaction that their demonstration bore fruits with the decision of MMCE to employ the truckers.

Benjamin decried a situation where only foreigners are awarded lucrative state projects, and the contractors turn around to employ only foreign workers for the constructions. He said the truckers in Wesley would not have been signed for the job if they had not stood up for their rights.

In a related development, the Minister for Public Works, Cassani Laville, has also decried the situation where funds are not quickly released to small island developing states (SIDS) after projects have been approved for them. He said there is no way the small island nations will grow in record time under a sustained economy if funds are not released in time for projects awarded for them. He said this while speaking at the 51st annual general meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) this week.

This article is copyright © 2021 DOM767