Former Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) chairman Joel Edwards has refuted claims that he verbally indicated to the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), Keith Eddy, that Cabinet had given its approval to extend contracts for three years.

Attorneys for Eastman Enterprise Ltd—a former CEPEP contractor—submitted an af­fi­­davit by Edwards dated July 15, 2025, in response to claims and documents filed by CEPEP’s attorneys on July 14.

CEPEP’s legal team, led by former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, has asked that the case be dismissed based on statements provi­ded by Eddy and CEPEP’s corporate secretary and legal head, Nicole Gopaulsingh, who both stated that Cabinet approval had been granted to extend the contracts.