By ANDRE BAGOO Thursday, October 15 2009

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ARNOLD PIGGOTT...

GOVERNMENT yesterday passed a motion ratifying the compulsory acquisition of 15 parcels of private lands for public purposes, including lands in Tobago in which former PNM Treasurer Andre Monteil has beneficial interest.

The motion, which required a simple majority was passed after being put to a vote at 6.26pm. The motion had already been passed in the Senate in July.

On July 7, during debate on the motion to approve acquisition of a parcel of land at Mason Hall, Agriculture Minister Arnold Piggott said the land was acquired by the State for construction of the Mason Hall Secondary School.

Shortly before the motion was passed, Piggott said the land was valued at $3.9 million and the State had to date, already paid off $3.1 million with the remaining balance to be paid-off at an interest rate of nine percent.

He also said the land at Adelphi Road, Mason Hall, “is said to belong now or formally to, Adelphi Estate.” But Opposition Senator Wade Mark said the land belonged to the Monteil family. Andre Monteil is a shareholder of Adelphi Estate Limited, which owns the estate in Tobago.

In his statement of interests filed with the Integrity Commission, for the year 2007, Monteil declared that he held investments in Adelphi Estates Limited, which is registered at 9 Second Avenue, Cascade.

In the same declaration, Monteil also disclosed that he has interests in several Adephi properties. These include: two parcels “totalling 8.2 hectares of agriculture land” on Adelphi Estate, “just off Belmont Local Road, Mason Hall Tobago”; as well as “lands in Mason Hall Tobago, belonging to Adelphi Estate Limited, of which I am a shareholder.”

Monteil also declared he owned as at 2007, a parcel of land, “in a new residential land development” at Forest Hills, Adelphi Estate, in addition to several other properties scattered across Tobago, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and the United States.