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🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago /Conflict & Security

Gonzales accuses government of ‘attacking’ Amplia and putting 150 workers at risk

From Trinidad Express · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Former minister Marvin Gonzales questioned why TSTT replaced Amplia’s call-centre services with a proposed $49 million contract for Hummingbird Holdings.
  • He called for explanations of the tender process and linked the decision to the risk of job losses for 150 Amplia workers.
  • Gonzales also raised questions about TSTT’s leadership changes, the shelving of the contract and a separate $4.4 billion legal threat from WiPay.

Former public utilities minister Marvin Gonzales says a decision to move TSTT’s call-centre work away from its subsidiary Amplia could leave 150 workers without jobs.

At a news conference in Port of Spain, Gonzales demanded answers about the proposed $49 million contract with Hummingbird Holdings Ltd of Diego Martin. He asked Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath to explain what tendering process TSTT used, or how Hummingbird obtained a sole-select contract.

attacking Amplia and putting 150 employees on the breadline

· Marvin GonzalesThe former minister described the impact he believes the government’s decision is having on Amplia and its workers.

TSTT acquired Amplia in 2017 for between $200 million and $300 million, and Amplia has provided call-centre services to TSTT since then, Gonzales said. He recalled that Padarath announced an inquiry into the acquisition in April 2025, but said nothing had been heard about the commission.

Gonzales said TSTT had issued a selective tender for call-centre services in November last year. Four companies were selected, he said, before TSTT moved away from that process and engaged Hummingbird to provide a service already supplied by Amplia. He questioned who authorized the arrangement and whether it created concerns for members of the TSTT board.

to provide the same service that one of TSTT’s subsidiaries, Amplia, was already providing

· Marvin GonzalesGonzales questioned why TSTT engaged Hummingbird after beginning a selective tender process.

He also asked why acting TSTT chief executive Keino Cox was fired and whether two board members resigned because of the Hummingbird contract. TSTT’s proposed three-year Digital First Call Centre Solution contract has since been put on hold over procurement concerns and its approval without board input. Padarath deferred comment when contacted.

Gonzales separately warned about taxpayers’ exposure to a proposed legal claim by WiPay, which is seeking $4.4 billion from the government over the collapse of its contract with the National Payment and Innovation Company. He called for answers about who authorized agreements with WiPay through NPIC.

He came to the country pretending as though he was acting in the best interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago

· Marvin GonzalesGonzales criticized Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath while calling for an explanation of the tender process.
About this summary

Originally published by Trinidad Express in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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