Valdeen Shears-Neptune
Former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal believes Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley wants to sabotage the commission of inquiry into the Las Alturas Housing Project at Lady Young Road, Morvant.
He made the comment yesterday in response to Rowley’s statement the day before in which he (Rowley) distanced himself from the project, saying he was not in office during the period the contract for the development was signed and work started.
“I have taken note of the statements of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and he cannot abdicate responsibility for his role in the Las Alturas debacle. I am wondering if this is not an attempt to crash the commission of inquiry, due to non co-operation,” Moonilal said in a telephone interview.
A release from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) on Monday denied media reports which suggested the failed development was initiated under his tenure.
“Contrary to a recent media report, Dr Rowley did not hold the portfolio of minister of housing at the time of the awards for the construction of the failed Las Alturas Towers, which are the subject of the enquiry,” the release said.
That portfolio, the release added, was held by then minister of planning, housing and the environment, Emily Gaynor Dick-Ford, who was appointed to the position in December 2007.
The release further stated that the “the contract items under the purview and investigation of the commission of enquiry occurred from 2008 onwards when he (Rowley) was no longer the minister of housing and therefore held no responsibility for that portfolio.”
Yesterday, however, Moonilal noted that a housing project was not a box drain and would have required time for designing, planning and construction.
He said during his purview as housing minister, he was charged with the planning, design and financial aspects of housing projects. It would have been the same portfolio Rowley would have filled in his role as a housing minister, he said. He reasoned that Dick-Ford should also seek to clear her name.
Moonilal also raised the issue of former HDC managing director Noel Garcia’s recent appointment as chairman of the Udecott. He said Garcia had been cited in two major commission of enquiries in the construction industry.
The fifth session of the commission of enquiry (CoE) in the Las Alturas project was scheduled to start last Monday but was adjourned “due to unavailability of witnesses.” The session was expected to continue until October 9.
Alternative dates will now have to be set, officials stated, due to scheduling conflicts with some of the witnesses and Queen’s Counsel Vincent Nelson. Nelson represents the HDC.
The enquiry was recommended by the former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar after concerns were raised about the cost, which skyrocketed from $65 million to $90 million.
The enquiry was set up to investigate the circumstances that led to the construction of the Las Alturas Towers and is being chaired by retired Justice Mustapha Ibrahim at the Caribbean Court of Justice, Henry Street, Port-of-Spain.
History of CoE
The commission of enquiry was set up to investigate “the entire process which led to the construction of the Las Alturas Towers at Lady Young Gardens, Morvant, and all other acts, matters or decisions done or undertaken incidental to and including the construction” of the project, which includes the procurement process.
Two multi-storey units of the project began falling apart soon after construction and the $26 million towers were earmarked for demolition. They were part of a larger project, which was originally budgeted at $65 million and then rose to $90 million.
The commission is chaired by former Justice of Appeal Mustapha Ibrahim.
The other members include civil engineers, Dr Myron Wing-Sang Chin and Anthony Farrell. Attorney Laraine Lutchmedial is the secretary. They were appointed by President Anthony Carmona in December 2014.
In September 2014, former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar recommended an enquiry into the project after raising concerns about the two towers which had to be demolished.