Chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) Noel Garcia yesterday dismissed allegation that he received kickbacks for the award of contracts as “absurd, scandalous and an outright lie.”
Garcia made the statement as he responded to Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge’s claim that his son’s university tuition was paid by a contractor who had been awarded multi-million dollar contracts from the HDC while Garcia was at its helm.
“I can say without fear of contradiction that I financed the education of my son as I financed the education of all of my children,” Garcia told the T&T Guardian in a telephone interview.
“I dare any contractor to say they financed any of my children’s education in exchange for the award of contracts,” he added.
During a press conference yesterday, Sturge said he had sent a file containing documentary evidence purporting to show wire transfers of over US$20,000 to Garcia’s son, Christian, by owner of PACE Construction Services Limited, Junior Joseph, over a period of four years between 2002 and 2005.
Sturge, who read his letter to the commission at his Regius Chambers, Port-of-Spain office, called on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to remove Garcia from his position.
Garcia was head of the National Housing Authority between 2003 and 2005 and then head of the HDC between 2005 and 2008.
In 2006, PACE Construction Services Limited was awarded the contract for the construction of 220 housing units in Point Fortin. The company was also awarded a contract for the construction of housing units in Corinth.
Sturge also called on the commission to investigate whether the board of the HDC in 2003 had gone against proper public procurement practices in “hand picking” firms, including PACE Construction, to be beneficiaries of contracts.
Sturge alleged that the La Fortune contract, which had an original contract price of over $85 million, escalated to over $225 million.
The Corinth contract, which had an original contract price of $165 million, escalated to over $286 million, he claimed.
Sturge said in light of Rowley’s announcement about using the construction of homes as a measure to stabilise the economy, the allegations needed to be looked at.
He added: “I am very concerned because a select few persons received contracts and in some instances there was a doubling, tripling and quadrupling of costs and one wonders if this was a sincere escalation of costs or if it was something else.
But yesterday, Garcia denied the Sturge’s allegations, describing them as “ludicrous.”
He said: “I don’t know what documentary evidence he has but I can say without fear of contradiction, I called my wife and as far as we are aware I sacrificed, in fact both me and my wife sacrificed, to put both of our children through school.”
Garcia also denied having the power to award contracts as he said that was a decision taken by the HDC’s Tenders Committee and the board.
During the conference, Sturge presented what appeared to be a copy of a wire transfer made to Christian Garcia, then at Saint John’s University, Minnesota, by Junior Joseph.
Sturge alleged another document appeared to be a copy of instructions from Garcia to Joseph for foreign wire transfers to Christian.
While Garcia confirmed his son did attend St John’s University, he said he could not recall ever giving any such instructions and said US$20,000 was not near enough to cover the university’s tuition fees.
“To suggest that a contractor funded my son’s education in exchange for the award of contracts is absurd, scandalous and an outright lie.
“Does it have my signature? I don’t recall that correspondence. I am not aware of me, Noel Garcia, issuing such instructions. I just find this thing to be utterly ridiculous,” he said.
Garcia compared Sturge’s allegations to allegations made by United National Congress MP Dr Roodal Moonilal in 2012 that Garcia had used the HDC’s corporate credit card to run up a $500,000 bill.
Garcia had denied that and presented a letter from First Citizens which stated that the HDC did not have corporate credit cards.
“These wild allegations are not uncommon but just like the credit card, I am also dismissing this one,” he said.
Last week, Sturge referred Housing Minister Marlene Mc Donald to the Integrity Commission over a complaint that she used her office to influence the allocation of a house to her partner Michael Carew.
Yesterday, Sturge again called on the Prime Minister to remove Mc Donald as Housing Minister if she did not “do the honourable thing and resign.”