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Moonilal defends stays at Hyatt

Former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal is lashing back at his successor Marlene McDonald for her dig about his special living accommodations set up at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port-of-Spain during his tenure as minister.

“I am a member of the Hyatt Regency Club and used those facilities regularly to conduct business including its boardroom and hospitality centre,” he said.

It was reported by the media that during her contribution to the budget debate last Tuesday night, McDonald described a space at the Hyatt hotel as “Roody’s corner” and called on Moonilal to explain why he needed that space at the hotel.

But Moonilal, in a text exchange with the Sunday Guardian, said it was “regrettable” that McDonald did not have “the highest level of experience” in business and industry. “I ran a multi billion-dollar mega industry which has now been slashed and given to the new minister,” Moonilal said.

“She has not yet developed the big mindedness, executive mindset, superior human resource personnel and expertise required to deal with mega projects with global industrialists, bankers, policy makers and diplomats,” Moonilal said.

He said that McDonald needed to understand that those “global players” needed a proper place to meet.

“Mrs McDonald would soon discover that global players prefer not to meet on Brian Lara Promenade or at Woodford Square. International brand-name hotels assure such people high service and security,” he said.

He said that as the minister in charge of that mega ministry, an MP, and a leader of the House, he had six offices, and also used offices of the state companies “if and when convenient.”

Moonilal said it was those kinds of arrangements that allowed him to “complete three hospitals, start two hospitals, eight police stations, a fire station and thousands of homes.

“It is distasteful to cast aspersions on a leading international brand name hotel that was also under my ministry and contributes to the development of T&T,” he said.

He said that while there were now questions over his links to that hotel, he found it “interesting that all PNM MPs eagerly collected their free $3,000 Hyatt Carnival fete tickets every year.”

In her contribution, McDonald said that the previous government had come into power and “enjoyed themselves,” but she planned to take her job more seriously and would not take advantage of the “perks.”


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