TRINIDAD: Police probing allegations against former UDECOTT chairma

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Police have started investigations into allegations made against the embattled former executive chairman of the State-owned Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDECOTT),Calder Hart, even as a senior government minister claimed he had been hounded out of office.

Newly appointed Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Roger Gaspard met with Acting Police Commissioner James Philbert and head of the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau (ACIB), Senior Superintendent Terry Young to discuss the matter following Hart’s unexpected resignation over the last weekend from UDECOTT and several other State boards.

A statement issued by the police following the meeting said that a team of investigators has been assigned to the case.

“As the investigations unfold, the Acting Commissioner of Police will communicate with the national community,” the release said.

The investigations had been prompted by the release of documents by the opposition Congress of the People (COP) party of an apparent family link between Hart and a company which was awarded TT$820 million (US$136 million) in contracts by UDECOTT to build government offices.

In his letter of resignation, Hart made no reference to the ongoing controversy noting however that “it has been a very satisfying and fulfilling experience notwithstanding the challenges”.

Hart had been at the centre of much controversy ever since Prime Minister Patrick Manning dismissed his then housing minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, in April in 2008, over allegations of disorderly behaviour.

Planning and Development Minister Emily Dick-Forde told reporters that Hart had been hounded out of the country.

“Mr Hart’s resignation would have been a surprise, but it also would not have been, because I think if any of you as human beings would have been hounded and treated the way he has been, I think you all would understand.

“So, a resignation is part of normal governance, people move on, but I think in the circumstances, we in Trinidad and Tobago should be very ashamed of what has happened, a person, a human being has been treated very, very badly, by us,” said Dick-Forde.

The COP said it was encouraged by the decision of the new DPP, whose previous selection for the post had been voted by Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

“I want to congratulate Mr Roger Gaspard, the DPP, for vindicating and enhancing a sense of trust in a public institution that needed reinforcement in the minds of the population,” said COP deputy leader Prakash Ramadhar.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into UDECOTT and the construction sector, Professor John Uff, says he will submit his final report before Easter.

In an electronic mail sent to reporters, the London-based Uff said he had written President George Maxwell Richards seeking an extension of the deadline in the wake of UDECOTT late filing of written submissions.

“The report of the commissioners is now at an advanced stage of preparation. However it remains the commissioners’ intention to complete their report and to deliver it to His Excellency the President as soon as possible,” The Commission said in a statement on its website.

Last weekend, High Court judge Mira Dean-Armorer dismissed a motion by UDECOTT seeking to block the report on the grounds of apparent bias.

““The commissioners…note and welcome the judgment delivered on Friday 5 March dismissing claims of apparent bias by UDECOTT,” the Commission statement added.

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Posted by GFBC Admin on Mar 11 2010. Filed under Caribbean News, Legal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.