Chairman of the Queen’s College Board of Governors, Civil Engineer Marcel Gaskin, has been recently awarded the contract to design and supervise the reconstruction of the school’s Western Wing. And having been awarded this contract, despite being the Chairman of the Board of Governors, the concern of conflict of interest was rightly raised.
In fact, guided by the reputable Oxford Dictionary, a conflict of interest occurs in a situation, where a person is in a position to derive personal benefit from actions or decisions made, in their official capacity. As a result, when such a situation arises, the party with the conflict of interest is usually asked to remove themselves, or can be legally required to be recused.
In fact, Gaskin’s firm, Marcel Gaskin and Associates Limited, enjoys an incestuous relationship with the installed government, therefore represent their consultation and engineering company of choice. However, as it pertains to the subject at hand, Priya Manickchand, installed Minister of Education, articulated that the school’s Western Wing was to be demolished and rebuilt, after the Ministry was advised by said Marcel Gaskin, that the structure is seriously compromised and unsafe. Then the installed Minister went on to elaborate, “As soon as we learnt of that in writing, we commissioned a drawing, went to public tender in the newspapers and on the worldwide web and an award was made by NPTAB.”
The fact is, none would wish to question the structural integrity of the Western Wing, already determined to be unsafe for students. In fact, none should second guess such a professional conclusion, considering the lives and limbs of our beloved children are involved. However, this remains our contention, Marcel Gaskin as the Chairman of the Queen’s College Board of Governors, has a privileged position, if not privileged information, as it pertains to the reconstruction of the Western Wing.
And being privy to such information, in a privileged position, it can be argued that same may have been utilised to his personal benefit, in being awarded the designing contract, even as he was selected to supervise the project. Thus, it can be asserted, Marcel Gaskin in his capacity as Chairman, has been involved in official decision making, that benefitted him personally, vis-à-vis conflict of interest.
But the clueless Priya Manickchand, who is as dumb as a box of rocks, went on to foolishly question, how the issue of Marcel Gaskin’s involvement could represent a conflict of interest? Then in a desperate attempt to justify her asinine reasoning, she proffered, Marcel Gaskin as the Chairman of the Board, has the expertise to design and supervise this project, as he has done for many other projects in the country.
Thereafter, she went on to senselessly argue, he isn’t the contractor supervising his own work, in fact, he will be supervising someone else’s work. And with her foot now down to her tonsils, the brainless Manickchand went on to reveal, Marcel Gaskin has designed the Western Wing, but while we haven’t paid him as yet, I don’t think it should be undertaken pro bono.
However, no one is questioning Marcel Gaskin’s expertise, remuneration or qualifications, rather the reality confronting us is, he occupies an influential position on the Queen’s College Board of Governors. And it’s in this position, he is privy to critical insider’s information if not influence, as it pertains to the bidding process for the contract to design the school’s Western Wing.
But while it may be argued that Marcel Gaskin didn’t bid for the infrastructure contract, it can’t be denied that he first recommended it, before being selected to be the designer, even as he has a supervisory role. Thus, it’s for these reasons, of a chairman who has made recommendations in his official capacity, supervising an infrastructure project he designed, that we the masses raise genuine concern of conflict of interest.