ProActive yesterday elaborated on its call for a public inquiry into the contract for the construction of the new senior secondary school, saying it should go beyond the specifics of the contract and deal with some aspects of policy.

?When we talk about a full scale public inquiry, we are talking about, amongst other things, whether there needs to be a broadening of the economic opportunities along racial or other lines with respect to Government?s capital projects of any size, a proper look into the history of the tendering of the project and the awarding of the contract to ProActive, and we would want this inquiry to study the promises, representations and assurances which were given to ProActive by various Cabinet Ministers who knew that as a small business ProActive would need support in significant areas, particularly with respect to ongoing cash flow,? a company spokesman said.

?This press release today talks of sporadic instances of what Government regards as cash flow assistance.

?There was no consistency in what they did.

?Government would frequently short-change ProActive with respect to its due progress payment.

?At the same time they would make telephone calls on the down low, as they call it, to the subcontractor letting them know that ProActive had been paid monies specifically for them.

?And they made it impossible for us to manage what little cash flow we had.?

He said the inquiry should also look at ?the role played by Government with local financial institutions, and the degree to which Government resources could be applied against credit facilities to ensure better cash flow? and ?the role played by various senior civil servants in the management of the contract and their relationship, if any, to competing companies ? large contractors who had tendered along with us.?

ProActive has claimed that certain civil servants worked to sabotage the project ? a claim Government has categorically denied.

But the spokesman said that company officials had witnessed ?instances in which senior civil servants have blatantly and openly refused to follow direct instructions given by Alex Scott when he was Works Minister and when he was Premier ? to his face with impunity.

?And if the Premier wants to pretend that these instances never occurred, that?s his problem but we have it documented.?

When asked what kind of instructions had been ignored, the spokesman said that the civil servants had refused to comply when asked to issue cheques for monies the company was entitled to,

?We?ve seen instances in which the Premier has instructed meetings to take place between certain civil servants and senior representatives of the company and they just blatantly refused to hold such meetings ? this has happened throughout most of this year,? the spokesman continued.

The company is gearing up for arbitration over what it says is wrongful termination of its $68 million contract to build the new school.