By Anika Gumbs-Sandiford
September 26, 2010
The million-dollar sale of the official Chief Justice residence more than a decade ago has come back to haunt the State. The decision has left taxpayers digging deep into their pockets forking out more than $54,000 a month to afford the super-grade housing a Chief Justice is entitled to. So, why was the home of the nation’s third highest office holder sold and not renovated? This is the burning unanswered question on the lips of many. Comprising 44,943 square feet of land (more than one acre) and located in the affluent neighbourhood of St Clair, the sprawling property was auctioned off for a bid of $7,001,000 just three days before Christmas in 1997. Real estate agent and chartered surveyor Afra Raymond valued the opulent property in today’s market at a whopping $31 million.
“A piece of land that size would be sold for a little more than $700 per square foot. In today’s market it would worth an estimated $31.5 million. That piece of land in St Clair is a desirable enclave. That size of lot in a millionaire’s row. It is really a desirable spot,” Raymond told Sunday Guardian when contacted.
Full Article : guardian.co.tt
Which PNM crony bought the house in St. Clair?
This is just one example of the stupid things our Goverment do while in office. It does not matter if it was PNM UNC PPP they will all at sometime do something foolish like this without taking a long view of things and just one to show up the previous administration.
As an Trinidadian of Afican descent I supported the present administration and celebrated it victory but already I seen the foolish mistakes they a re making like the purchase of laptops for children. Now whoever came up with that plan did not take into consideration that there is a need to provide continuous maintenance and software updates for antivirus etc in order to get the most out a computer.
It would have been better if the money was given to schools to develop their computer labs as the labs would be a controlled environment to reduce the itroduction of virus and unwanted/unnecesary programme to the system which would lead to less downtime and unnecessary repairs.
As someone who have work for a number of years in the IT department of a law enforcement agency here in the USA. I would now suggest that all the computers before being distributed to the children be registerd into a central database by serial, model number, make and to whom it has been assigned.That database should be set up by the ministry and access be given to the police. The reason for this is when a computer is stolen it should be entered into a stolen database record and when computer is recovered the laptop from the stolen datablse should automaticly be run against the Ministry’s database of stolen computers. That is the way that it is done here for anything electronic or has a unique serial number even cars and tags/license.
All police cars should be equiped with computers to run recovered equipment. The recoved equipment should also be listed as where it is stored with a phone number that citizen can go to obtain their recoved equipment.
I hope the new Police Commissioner really would improve the service with the introduction of new plan and more efficient ways of doing things
Part of the President’s house collapse, now the Chief Justice living in a rental unit, but former Prime Minister made sure he built a palace for himself. A palace now fit for the Queen of T&T politics. That is why Manning will always be remembered as the true maximum leader. NHA houses falling apart also. Yuh tink it easy…..
Residences should be provided for the PM, President,and possibly the Leader of the Opposition.The long perpetuated colonial practice of providing residences for others should be discontinued.Positions like the CJ,Chief of Police, etc. should buy their own houses. Their salaries are large enough.I am not surprised that Gibbs was so anxious to become Chief of Police in T&T.and collect that massive salary, with house, housing allowance, and personal transportation.A chief of Police in Canada has to live on his own salary.The tradition of providing residences and staff to many of these positions is obviously an old practice which originated to facilitate British nationals who were appointment to colonial positions before Independence.There is no justification today for this practice.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago is way out touch with reality and logical thinking. What is wrong with them? Are they in the dark and cannot see? The Chief Justice needs to purchase his own home for him amd his family, If he does not like that let him find another job. The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court owns his home. The Police Commissioner should do likewise. In Canada Police Commissioners are responsible for providing their own residences for them and their families. What possess the government representatives of the people of Trinidad and Tobago to enter into these colonialism contracts with those foreigners? Sick! Sick!
‘There is no justification today for this practice.’ Now if only you had the guts to tell your PM and party to end the colonial practice of having senile English Law lords interpret our laws, then I could believe you are really serious T-Man, and not simply behaving like a Cumoto Zandole , and putting up a well disguised front.
Was he not one of the comedians who want the incoming PM to open the new million dollar Manning 5 star hotel residents to the homeless, and that his PM remain in Siparia, and travel by donkey cart ,or Maxi Taxi every day to work.
Sorry , I forgot he was in support of Jack and Dookie , and wanted our Capital to move to unregulated , congested , Chagurnas.
What a bunch!