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Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath has confirmed that all Community-Based Environmental Protection and ­Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) contractors have been terminated, following a thorough review and advice from the Attorney General.

At a post-Cabinet news conference on June 5, 2025, Padarath claimed that on the eve of the April 28 general election—between April 14 and April 24—the PNM government renewed over 360 CEPEP contracts for a three-year period.

The minister stated then that an audit would be conducted on all CEPEP assets, including vehicles, equipment and rental facilities, along with a comprehensive review of the programme in terms of its mandate and the process by which these contracts were renewed without any evaluation.