Tuesday, March 16 2010

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Michael Annisette...

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OPPOSITION LEADER Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday called upon the newly-appointed Integrity Commission to investigate whether Udecott deputy chairman Dr Khrisna Bahadoorsingh and director Michael Annisette had breached the Integrity in Public Life Act. Persad-Bissessar’s call was contained in a letter which was sent to commission’s offices at the Unit Trust Corporation building in Port-of-Spain, hours after the new members of the commission were sworn in at President’s House at 10 am.

In her letter, Persad-Bissessar called upon the commission to investigate two separate instances involving Bahadoorsingh and Annisette to determine whether or not either of them was guilty of a conflict of interest in the discharge of their duties as Udecott directors.

In Bahadoorsingh’s case, Persad-Bissessar claimed the Edinburgh Boulevard near Chaguanas was constructed at a cost of $20 million to facilitate a private housing project named Brentwood Palms which is being built nearby. She claimed this project is being undertaken by Caribbean Housing Limited which is owned by Bahadoorsingh. Edinburgh Boulevard was one of the first Udecott projects completed in Central Trinidad in 2006.

In the case of Annisette, Persad-Bissessar called on the commission to investigate Annisette’s alleged role in a housing project on lands in Valsayn which was started by the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) but taken over by Udecott.

Despite several calls for the remaining four members of Udecott’s board to be removed following the resignation of Calder Hart as its executive chairman on March 6, Prime Minister Patrick Manning last Friday said there was no need for the rest of the board to be removed. He announced the appointment of Housing Development Corporation managing director Jerlean John as the new Udecott chairman.

Bahadoorsingh, Annisette, Anthony Cherry and Wendell Dottin have all said they would not resign from Udecott’s board in the wake of Hart’s resignation.