By George Alleyne
October 7 2009 – newsday.co.tt
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com
It is time for a multi-racial and multi-economic group political party to emerge which will effectively challenge and replace the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) at the next General Election. The country should be prepared to accept that the PNM today is but a simulacrum of the party which the late Dr Eric Williams created.
Continue reading Time to replace the PNM
Newsday’s Editorial
Tuesday, October 6 2009
LAST Friday’s freezing of the Commission of Inquiry into Udecott until the High Court hears Udecott’s case for judicial review on February 8, 2010 may look like a bolt out of the blue, but to seasoned observers it should come as no surprise. While on the surface there is a lot of confusion as to how lawyers for the Commission could possibly have ended up agreeing to such a draconian consent-order with Udecott’s lawyers, we dryly note that it comes on the heels of a long list of past efforts to throw the spotlight of public accountability away from Udecott.
Continue reading Derailing Uff
By Sylvan N. Wilson
September 20, 2009
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog
The Government and in particular the Minister of Finance have been attempting to justify their murderous property tax by arguing that the value of properties has changed since 1948. They have astutely deciphered that properties have increased in value over the last sixty-one years.
Continue reading No to Increase in Property Tax!
newsday.co.tt
Sunday, September 6 2009
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog
THE HEARINGS of the fourth and final phase of the Uff Commission of Inquiry into Udecott, which was expected to start tomorrow, was yesterday adjourned “until further notice” by its chairman Professor John Uff.
In an email sent by the inquiry’s secretariat to all the parties to the proceedings yesterday, it was announced that the hearing would not take place, but instead a press conference would be scheduled for 11am on Monday.
Continue reading Uff inquiry postponed until further notice
Newsday Editorial
Saturday, August 15 2009
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com
It was an imperative that Israel Khan should have recused himself from the Uff Commission of Inquiry into Udecott and the Construction Industry. The ten-page letter which he issued to Udecott’s attorneys some days ago appeared to pre-judge the personalities and the issues before the Commission. As a Commissioner, Mr Khan should not have been giving vent to such opinions prior to having them stated in the body of the eventual Commissioners’ Report.
Continue reading The Israel Khan affair
Newsday’s Editorial
Thursday, April 2 2009
It seems that every expert testimony given so far to the Uff Commission of Inquiry has revealed mismanagement, technical incompetence and, perhaps, deep-rooted corruption.
The testimony given by engineer Arun Buch last Tuesday on the Tarouba Stadium project was especially damning. “I have never seen anything like this,” said Buch, who has more than 30 years experience in the construction industry. But he placed blame for the myriad faults at the feet of Turner Alpha Limited, who were responsible for the stadium’s design. Udecott, said Buch, was not culpable, since the corporation was not required to know about design issues.
Continue reading Corruption poster child
Newsday Editorial
Wednesday, March 25 2009
There is clearly a link between the findings contained in the February 20 report presented by Gerry McCaffrey, construction expert hired by the Uff Commission of Inquiry that the structural steel work at the Brian Lara Stadium project “is effectively condemned” and the cancelling of his return flight to Trinidad on February 27 by the Office of the Prime Minister.
In addition, the report had effectively cleared former Minister of Housing, Dr Keith Rowley, of any wrongdoing with respect to the Cleaver Heights Housing Project. Instead of McCaffrey’s report triggering a desire by the authorities to facilitate the further pursuit of the investigation, McCaffrey’s probe into a series of projects has been abruptly halted as the cancellation of his return flight meant that he was unable to continue his inquiries.
Continue reading McCaffrey disgrace
By Andre Bagoo Monday, March 2 2009
www.newsday.co.tt
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog
FIRST it was estimated to cost $40 million. Later, that rose to $148 million. Last September, the figure was revised to $175.3 million. But Udecott documents obtained by Newsday reveal that the cost of the Prime Minister’s Residence and Diplomatic Centre as at December last year was an estimated $244 million. According to a dossier on the project which was submitted by Udecott lawyers to the Uff Commission of Inquiry, the cost estimate for the project, as at December 31, 2008, was $243,961,819.
Continue reading PM’s mansion climbs to $244M
January 24, 2009
HDC clears Rowley
In a written submission filed on Wednesday afternoon with the Uff Commission of Inquiry into Udecott and the construction sector, the HDC effectively cleared former planning and development minister Dr Keith Rowley of any wrongdoing in the Cleaver Heights project by attributing apparent million-dollar discrepancies, in the contract total for the project, to “{two errors” contained in a letter of award drawn up by the HDC and addressed to the project contractor, NH International Limited.
Continue reading ‘Udecott bigger than Cabinet’
Sunday, November 16 2008
Newsday Editorial
Faced with the choice to apologise to his erstwhile colleague Diego Martin West MP Keith Rowley, or to brazen out his allegation that Dr Rowley is responsible for missing monies in the Cleaver Heights housing project, Prime Minister Patrick Manning has chosen the latter course.
Continue reading Extended Allegations