00:00Despite the controversy here on Thursdays surrounding permissions for a police post to be erected here at the Edihad grounds
00:08in Tagoregua, as you can see behind me, work continues.
00:13Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander says permission would have come through the Minister of Rural Development and local government.
00:22It's about making citizens feel safer, according to Minister Alexander, who tells us he has been receiving multiple requests from
00:29people for additional police posts.
00:31And about what transpired where contractors were chased away the day prior by the Tunapunapiaco Regional Corporation, under the hands
00:39of Chairman Josiah Austin, Alexander sums it up in this way.
00:43Himself, tell himself he's a king and bought himself a crown.
00:46Asked about procurement and funding, Alexander says the project was planned and catered for over a year ago.
00:53It's been a year, two months and three weeks since we started this.
00:58But he still didn't say where the funding came from, how much the project is costing or what procurement procedure
01:05was used.
01:06Minister, we are not arguing safety and security.
01:08What I asked is, at this time, do you have all of the funding necessary to erect the 30 police
01:16posts that are to be erected countrywide?
01:19That's a yes or no.
01:21Let me answer this.
01:22As we erect, we will call you so you can get pictures.
01:27Yes or no, Minister?
01:29As we erect, we will call you.
01:33As for the permission for the construction at Eddie Hart Grounds, Alexander appointed to Minister of Rural Development and Local
01:39Government, Khadija Amin.
01:41Minister Amin is in charge of all of this.
01:44Okay, so the permissions would have come through Minister Amin.
01:48Come on, man.
01:49I'm just asking, Minister, for clarity.
01:52So if I tell you that the Minister is in charge of it, you think I walked here by myself
01:56and came and we put this down by ourselves?
01:58Amin, joining the discourse minutes later, says no other regional corporations other than the TPRC has had a problem.
02:07We have to think about country first.
02:09We have to think about making our citizens safer, and that is the priority.
02:13I am certain that if any corporation wishes to get additional information, they can do so by a phone call.
02:20But the act to stop the project, really, I think it was in foretaste on them, on their behalf.
02:27I think they would have realized that now.
02:29She says both she and the Permanent Secretary in her ministry sent an email to the Chairman and CEO of
02:36the TPRC on Thursday.
02:38This was after the debacle unfolded.
02:41And while the TPRC didn't respond to her, she states that the corporation responded to the Permanent Secretary.
02:47Who, in fact, forwarded the correspondence to me.
02:52And if I communicated with them directly, they have their reasons why they would have not responded to me and
02:58then responded to the P.S.
03:00But nonetheless, crime don't know UNC and PNM, you know.
03:04Everybody's a victim of crime.
03:05About an hour after, TPRC Chairman Josiah Austin arrived at the active construction site and was met with UPRO.
03:12You don't know why, why, why, you don't want, you don't want to do that.
03:16In his hand, a document he told us was a stop order to hold the works.
03:21So a stop order will be served accordingly.
03:24And thereafter, we hope that compliance will be had and the contractor will be served because of the stop order.
03:30And how legally binding is that stop order? Do they have to stop?
03:33Yes, it's expected that they do.
03:35He was waiting on the engineer, the corporation, to serve the order, as a political appointee is unable to do
03:41so.
03:42Austin maintains that his main peeve with the project is over what he views as disrespect.
03:48There was no consultation with us.
03:50They came in and just started this.
03:53It's very simple.
03:54The minister laces with me, right?
03:56The P.S. laces with the CEO.
03:58The minister laces with the CEO and just said, give accommodations for this, basically.
04:04There's no, it's very disrespectful.
04:06As for the email sent by Amin.
04:09That was not sent to me.
04:10Usually, politician to politician, we lace and the P.S. would lace with the CEO.
04:15But nothing was sent to me.
04:17Head of the Municipal Police, Senior Superintendent Wayne Mohamed and his team were there from start to finish to keep
04:24order at a site.
04:25When our cameras left, the documents still had not been served and the platform for the police post and sewer
04:31installation were more or less completed.
04:34Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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