A growing corruption controversy surrounding Trinidad and Tobago’s $3.4 billion suspended housing development program has put the government in the spotlight, after a local newspaper exposed an attempted bribe to scrap an investigative report into alleged bid-rigging at the state-run Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
The Sunday Express, the outlet that broke the story, revealed that a self-described intermediary for an HDC official under investigation arranged a closed-door meeting with the paper’s investigative journalist Mark Bassant last Thursday on Ariapita Avenue in Woodbrook. During the meeting, the intermediary, a well-known figure in local political circles, offered a substantial cash compensation package to Bassant on the condition that the outlet drop the story entirely. In addition to the payout, the man also promised the journalist exclusive internal documents detailing alleged mismanagement of the HDC during the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administration, according to the report.
The intermediary explicitly noted that senior figures at the HDC wanted to avoid the negative public scrutiny that would come from the publication of the collusion allegations. The Sunday Express immediately rejected the bribe offer, reiterating that the probe into the HDC contract awards is a matter of critical public interest that demands full transparency.
The sequence of events that led to the attempted bribe began last week, after the newspaper received complaints of collusion in the awarding of two large contracts under the housing program. Reporters then sent formal questions to both the implicated HDC official and the two contractors that received the contracts. The day after the queries were sent, the intermediary reached out to the paper, claiming the HDC official was willing to discuss the contract issue openly, and arranged Thursday’s meeting.
Following the publication of the report on Sunday, Housing Minister David Lee moved quickly to distance himself from the entire affair. When contacted by the outlet for official comment, Lee stated he had no prior knowledge of any bribe attempt or the underlying allegations of collusion. He emphasized that as the cabinet minister overseeing the housing portfolio, he does not interfere in the daily operations of the HDC or any other state agency under his jurisdiction, nor does he involvement in any public procurement processes managed by those entities.
In response to the newspaper’s investigation, legal action has already been threatened by one of the two contractors. Last Thursday afternoon, Denelle S Singh, an attorney based in Chaguanas, submitted a pre-action protocol letter to the Sunday Express on behalf of the contractor and his firm. The letter denies all collusion allegations and warns that the contractor will file a lawsuit if the outlet publishes his client’s name in connection with the story.
The second contractor, who secured a multi-million-dollar contract under the program and spoke briefly with Bassant earlier that week, took a different approach. In a detailed set of responses sent via WhatsApp late Friday evening, the contractor said his company is unable to release any information related to confidential client relationships, commercial agreements, or project-specific details unless compelled by law or given formal permission by all relevant involved parties.