By Clint Chan Tack Tuesday, October 20 2009

PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning yesterday broke his silence on the ongoing controversy involving Udecott and the Uff Commission of Inquiry.

Manning declared that he never fired Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley from the Cabinet last April after Rowley raised concerns about a lack of oversight of Udecott’s operations. The Prime Minister made the statement in response to relentless pressure from Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj during a heated debate on the Validation and Immunity from Proceedings Bill 2009 in the House of Representatives. The objective of the bill is to validate all of the Commission’s proceedings.

Manning stood up after Maharaj declared that he fired Rowley from the Cabinet and sent another former minister “to a diplomatic mission” after they raised concerns about Udecott.

Opposition MPs were in uproar as Manning began his response by saying, “I am determined to stay out of a lot of the ole talk that is going on in this matter.” Looking Maharaj squarely in the eye, the Prime Minister declared, “Nobody was fired from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. Nobody was fired because of any position that they took because of Udecott. That is mischief in the extreme! It is behavior. People don’t know how to behave!” Manning rejected claims that Government “is taking a particular position with respect to Udecott.” The Prime Minister said parliamentarians had previously called for an inquiry “when there was no basis for it.”

“All the Government was saying bring the Commission’s basis, and then the Government will consider that. It is when that happened that Government took the position that we would have a commission of inquiry. The Government has been consistent on this matter,” Manning declared. He concluded: “The attitude of the Government is let the Commission do its work, and let the Commission make its findings. The Government will take whatever action it considers appropriate.”

Referring to a Newsday article dated April 28, 2008, Maharaj countered, “The behaviour which was described as “wajang” was behaviour for exposing corruption at Udecott. This is not “ole talk”. This is where it’s people’s monies are allegedly being given to public officials. How could the Honourable Prime Minister say this is ole talk?”

Declaring his unconditional support for the bill to ensure that official corruption is stamped out, Maharaj slammed Manning for giving the impression that Udecott has the support of himself and the Cabinet by “holding hands” with company chairman Calder Hart in public “in spite of all the evidence.”

Recalling that he first raised allegations about Hart’s relatives being directors of CH Development which was awarded a $368 million contract to build the Legal Affairs Tower, Maharaj said, “I want Mrs Sherrine Hart to go (before the Commission) and to give evidence.” He said evidence given to the Commission by her ex-husband Carl Khan suggested that her brother and brother-in-law were directors of CH. Maharaj said Mrs Hart must respond to Khan’s claims before the Commission, such as why the fax number on documents belonging to CH was the same as the fax number at the Hart’s home in Cascade.

When Maharaj slammed the award of a $300 million contract to Sunway Caribbean to outfit the Legal Affairs Tower, House Leader Colm Imbert protested that this was irrelevant since it was not part of the evidence before the Commission. Speaker Barry Sinanan agreed with Imbert on this point.

The Speaker disagreed with Imbert’s claims of irrelevance when Maharaj spoke about Manning’s attack on Rowley about the Cleaver Heights housing project during last year’s Budget debate in the House.