Udecott doing as it wantsBy Carol Matroo Thursday, April 24 2008
Former Trade and Industry Minister Dr Keith Rowley last night said his concern over the way the state-owned Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (Udecott) was conducting its business, was the contributing factor to his dismissal from Cabinet by Prime Minister Patrick Manning.
Rowley said he was fired by Manning yesterday after being summoned to Whitehall at about 7.30 am.
Rowley said Manning accused him of misconduct during a meeting of a sub-committee of Cabinet and was told his position as a minister would be revoked.
He was again summoned at about midday, Rowley told reporters at a news conference at his Diego Martin West constituency office in Glencoe.
Although he did not say what Manning said to him during the second meeting, Rowley who met with scores of constituents before the media briefing, told them the Prime Minister had asked him to resign. Rowley told his constituents he refused to step down and advised Manning that as Prime Minister: “You know what to do”.
Rowley told reporters he had issues with Udecott since he was Planning and Development in the last PNM administration and recently objected to plans by the company, chaired by Canadian-born Calder Hart, to construct a 60-room hotel on the Princess Building Grounds in Port-of-Spain as part of a performance arts academy, which is currently under construction.
Rowley also said he had taken steps to have Cabinet stop Udecott from taking part in the housing programme when he was Housing Minister.
Against this background, Rowley said he was surprised when a Udecott proposal for the hotel was put before the Cabinet.
“I was taken by complete surprise, as were my colleagues, because Udecott business is being conducted in such a way that such a development can take place to the surprise of Cabinet members,” Rowley said.
“I was surprised that such a development could be taking place without appropriate Cabinet oversight. I raised with the Prime Minister Udecott activities when billions of dollars are being spent on projects. The way things are going, it is time for the PNM to take cognisance of the way the country is being governed.”
He said although he was fired for misconduct he did not use “unparliamentary language”.
“I did not shout at anybody, I did not use obscene language. I did not bang on the desk. I did not identify any person who might have been responsible for this,” Rowley told reporters.
Rowley said he had spent $350,000 in legal fees to defend allegations of misconduct before the Integrity Commission stemming from the Landate affair, of which he had been cleared.
“I have against the background of evidence and persons in Udecott seeking to conspire with others in the Integrity Commission to have me charged with criminal misconduct.”
He said an investigator from Canada who had been hired to investigate the allegations against him, found it difficult to get Udecott to cooperate in the matter.
“I acted to prevent corruption,” Rowley said of the case.
When he arrived at the constituency office at about 8.15 pm, his constituents shouted their support. They shouted: “Manning must go! Time for Rowley to start a new party!”
