A planned $49 million three-year digital call centre contract at state-owned Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) has been suddenly suspended, triggering an internal review and sparking questions about the departure of the firm’s former acting chief executive. The deal, which had already been awarded to Diego Martin-based Humming Bird Holdings Ltd, was scrapped after concerns emerged that the entire procurement and approval process was completed without any formal review or sign-off from TSTT’s board of directors, according to industry sources close to the ongoing investigation.
The abrupt cancellation of the contract came shortly after TSTT’s board made the decision not to renew the acting appointment of former CEO Keino Cox, whose tenure ended two weeks prior. When asked whether the irregular call centre procurement played a role in the board’s decision not to retain Cox, Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath confirmed that the contract issue was among the factors the board considered during its deliberations on Cox’s performance. Following Cox’s departure, the board appointed Reza Hosein to step into the role as acting CEO.
Multiple attempts by the *Sunday Express* to secure a direct comment from Cox last week resulted in a delayed response. After initially noting he was traveling outside of the country, Cox directed all media queries to TSTT’s communications team lead Janelle David, who in turn referred questions to TSTT chairman Kern Dass. In an official statement responding to the *Sunday Express*’s questions, Dass confirmed that the proposed call centre agreement was never presented to the full board for review by the outgoing management team.
Dass added that the board has launched an immediate full review into the procurement process and all surrounding circumstances of the award. “Once this review is concluded, TSTT will be positioned to share additional operational details,” he said, noting that the board intends to submit its finalized findings to the public utilities ministry and any other relevant regulatory authorities once the probe is complete.
Senior TSTT insiders with direct knowledge of the procurement timeline shared that the process launched in November of last year as a selective tender, with four companies submitting formal proposals for the project: Amplia, Humming Bird Holdings Ltd, Concepts and Services, and Rayanna Boucher. Midway through the evaluation process, insiders said, the tender was unexpectedly converted to a single-source selection, with Humming Bird Holdings ultimately named the winning bidder following a final evaluation completed in April of this year. None of the other three bidders were selected for the contract: Boucher and Concepts and Services were eliminated during earlier stages of evaluation, while Amplia did not receive a favorable assessment from the management team leading the process.
Documents reviewed by the *Sunday Express* confirm that a formal letter of offer for the three-year digital call centre contract was issued to Humming Bird Holdings, and the firm’s chief executive Nandani Varsha Bidaisee has already signed the document to accept the terms. Public corporate registry records show the company is registered to an apartment at Victoria Keys 8D Tower 3 in Diego Martin, with Merle Bidaisee listed as the second co-director. Until July last year, Rudra Bidaisee — a licensing officer at the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) who shares the same registered address — also served as a director of the firm, a role he held for 12 years before stepping down.
Minister Padarath confirmed last week that he had requested full corporate details on Humming Bird Holdings from the national company register, and that the information was recently provided to his office. He also confirmed that official notification has been sent to Humming Bird Holdings advising that all proposed arrangements with TSTT have been suspended immediately, pending the outcome of the full investigation into the procurement process.