Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Jah Gol on August 03, 2008, 03:37:32 PM
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Woman questioned in HDC fraud
A woman working closely with a top politician is the suspect in a corruption case being investigated by Anti-Corruption Bureau officers.
The woman was visited by investigators two weeks ago and asked to explain the allegations by several people, who claimed they were asked for as much as $10,000 to be given preference to get a house being constructed by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
There have been several arrests and prosecutions of people asking for money with the promise of an HDC house.
Three months ago, Housing Minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde warned people not to give money to anyone, saying that the allocation of houses was a random-draw system".
The Express was told that there were claims being made that relatives were being allocated several homes on a particular street in new developments in South Trinidad and that no random draw was taking place.
A case was being built against the woman and the Director of Public Prosecutions would be asked to consider the evidence, the Express learned.
Trinidad Express (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161359330)
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A following dis 1 closely
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$156M HDC site Abandoned, Vandlised
Published: Sun, 2011-01-16 20:04
Shaliza Hassanali
HDC squatter Bruno Molinari.
A 59-year-old Canadian is illegally occupying one of the houses in a $156 million Housing Development Corporation (HDC) project in Chaguanas, while six Jamaicans are also living illegally on the site. The project—99 per cent complete—is overgrown with grass, while some 125,000 people are at their wits end as they wait for housing accommodation. A brief tour of the Lions Gate Development at Egypt Street, Enterprise, Chaguanas, constructed by Brave Lion for the HDC, showed several of the vandalised units covered in grass and vines. The glass windows of many units have been shattered, electrical wires severed, doors uprooted, kitchen counters smashed and tiles in washrooms yanked out.
Nearby, a group of workers was busy tying up the loose ends around a single unit on the site, which looked like a ghost town. Even the presence of security on the site, which is also limited, has helped to deter thieves and vandals. To compound matters, at least two of several contractors hired by Brave Lion to undertake work on the site are threatening legal action due to non payment amounting to millions. Bruno Molinari, who was paid $40,000 a month by Brave Lion as a site representative, claims he too is being owed $700,000 in outstanding payments.
Squatting in HDC house
With no money forthcoming, Italian-born Molinari, who resided in Canada, said he was forced to occupy one of the incomplete HDC units after Brave Lion could not pay his $11,000 rent. “I am squatting in one of HDC’s unit,” he said, pushing open the door to his new rent-free home, which had little furnishing. During the day, Molinari would relax and prepare his simple meals in Brave Lion’s site office, an air conditioned freight container. At nights, Molinari walks across to the HDC’s semi furnished single unit which has no pipe-borne water and electricity to sleep. In a corner of one of the bedrooms stands a 4 feet by 6 feet bed, while the living room has two single chairs with a brown vinyl covering the bare concrete flooring.
• Brave Lion was awarded a $156 million contract by the HDC to construct Lions Gate Development in April 2007.
• Brave Lion eventually retained the services of Genivar to assist in providing engineering, project and construction management services.
Molinari offered big perks
Within the next few weeks, Molinari said, he would be leaving Trinidad as a pauper. “I have to cut my losses and move on. I just want the country to know how I was treated. I never expected this to happen.” Captivated by the island’s beauty, Molinari said he wanted to live in Trinidad, but things did not work out. Of the 30 odd countries in which he has built houses, Molinari said Trinidad has left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“I constructed house in the jungle in Nigeria and was paid,” he added. Molinari said on November of 2010, he was forced to flee a three-bedroom house at Brook Street, Lange Park, Chaguanas after the landlord was owed $110,000 in rent. Molinari said he vacated the house to avoid any confusion or being levied upon. The rental of the upscale house, a $40,000-a-month salary and the enjoyment of an $187,000 Toyota van were part of the deal Molinari said he had struck with Brave Lion upon taking up the job in September 2007.
Molinari said he was contacted in Canada by an agent of Brave Lion, who told him that his expertise was needed in building 71 three-bedroom single family units and 160 three-bedroom townhouses with an acrylic finish, which required no painting and maintenance for up to 30 years. The houses, Molinari said, are the first of its kind in Trinidad. Molinari said part of his duty was to train local labourers on the site, but because of their unwillingness to learn and work he had to seek the services of 12 Jamaicans, who were issued work permits upon arriving in Trinidad.
Shake hand deal
“When I came here to work I did not sign a contract. It was just a shake hand deal,” said Molinari. However, in November of 2009 Molinari said his salary was stopped after hearing that the HDC was not delivering payments to Brave Lion for work undertaken. Molinari said he was asked to continue his task with the promise of being paid once the matter was settled. This he agreed to, even though Brave Lion’s office in Maraval had closed down.
He claimed he spent US$35,000 from his personal savings to upkeep himself. To compound matters, Molinari said his work permit which expired in June 2010 was also not renewed. Attempts to have the permit renewed proved futile as Molinari owed the Board of Inland Revenue $31,000 in taxes, which he could not pay. “Brave Lion had agreed to pay the taxes,” he claimed. Molinari said six of the 12 Jamaicans who previously worked on the site were also living illegally on the HDC site.
BRAVE LION: WE ARE OWED BY GOVT
Yesterday, one of Brave Lion’s directors, Joseph Azar, admitting that he knows Molinari, said those who are threatening legal action can go ahead. “That is their right.” Azar denied that bad management led to the contractors and consultants not being paid. He claimed Government, in fact HDC was owing the company since November 2009. “What happened there was a problem that went on with the HDC. It started there...Lack of payments from them...that caused everything to virtually run aground.” He said the matter was now in the hands of the company’s lawyers.
“What I like for myself, I like for others.” Asked what is causing the delay in payments, Azar said, “Well, I think they should refer it back to the CEO of Brave Lion Industries who has resigned. Then you have the COO by the name of one Mr Peter Agnelli, who happens to be in Canada.” He could not say what led to the resignation of the CEO.
Genivar waiting for $$
Vice president of Genivar Jack Shenker said his company was in the same position as the other contractors who are awaiting payments. “We are owed a substantial amount.” Questioned if the figure was millions, Shenker said, “It could be in that range.” Last December, Shenker said he held a meeting with Brave Lion, who claimed “they were waiting to settle with HDC.”
John—houses 99 per cent completed
Questioned on Friday about the project, managing director of the HDC Jearlean John had little to say. “All I could tell you is that 99 per cent of the houses have been completed. We really have little or nothing to do there.” A HDC source said monies was not being paid to Brave Lion.
Contractors threaten legal action
Meanwhile, two sub-contractors who are owed $4.9 million by Brave Lion Industries Ltd for works undertaken are threatening legal action. The two companies—Premium Contracting Services Ltd owned by Shivan Beharry, and R Ramdeen and Associates managed by Rajkoomar Ramdeen have indicated that their attorneys will be filing pre action protocol letters in court to Brave Lion this week. Beharry said his attorney Ken Sagar was seeking to recover $3.2 million in outstanding payments for repairs to electrical infrastructure and internal electrical works done between October 2009 and January 2010 under two contracts. Beharry said the non payment has had a serious negative impact on his business, since material suppliers and workers have not been paid.
Beharry said his company has not been able to accept further work from other agents “since acquiring credit facilities is proving to be extremely difficult as no one wants to recommend my company as a secure creditor,” while loans and overdraft facilities are steadily incurring interest. On March 26, 2010 Beharry wrote John explaining his company’s position. Ramdeen, who conducted remedial sewer works, internal plumbing and supplemental plumbing works on all units in June 2009, is claiming $1.7 in payments plus interests. Ramdeen has since retained the services of attorney Ravi Gooljar. On Friday, Ramdeen said he had run out of options and had no where to turn. “I cannot express the effect this is having on my employees, creditors and family.”
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Jerlean could at pretending 2 b competent but far from.
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“When I came here to work I did not sign a contract. It was just a shake hand deal,”
??? ???
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“When I came here to work I did not sign a contract. It was just a shake hand deal,”
??? ???
Yuh understand boy Dutty... :o :o Imagine you get a contract that paying perks galore and is only ah hand shake that seal it. I thought is only we 3rd worlders does do stupidness so....::) ::)
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“When I came here to work I did not sign a contract. It was just a shake hand deal,”
??? ???
Yuh understand boy Dutty... :o :o Imagine you get a contract that paying perks galore and is only ah hand shake that seal it. I thought is only we 3rd worlders does do stupidness so....::) ::)
That is why Patos and company needed a kick in dey backside.
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That handshake deal was between Molinari and Brave Lion... government had nothing to do with that, their deal was with Brave Lion... apparently.
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9,000 houses PNM left
By Gail Alexander
Fitzgerald Hinds The Government would not be under immediate pressure to build houses if Housing Minister Roodal Moonilal distributes the 9,000 houses which the PNM left in an advanced stage, PNM Senator Fitzgerald Hinds said yesterday. Speaking at a media conference Hinds deemed as “immoral” the Government’s move to bulldoze farmers’ crops at Chaguanas and D’Abadie to make way for housing projects. Hinds said UNC, in Opposition, had strongly condemned the PNM administration for similar action and the UNC/People’s Partnership Government was doing “precisely the same thing.” Hinds added: “We had left 9,000 houses in advanced stages, ready for purchase or tenancy by HDC clients, and I’d have thought that they would be working hastily to distribute these. But instead they are dismantling them as we’ve seen them do with Victoria Keyes, in Diego Martin.” “Housing Minister Moonilal should be busying himself to make those houses available to people and maybe then there would not be that immediate pressure to build houses.”
Hinds said: “I read with interest where a media house published that 800 units were being sacrificed for four farmers, but when farmers produce, it’s not just four of them benefiting alone from their produce, or only 3,200 people—it’s the nation that benefits from their produce.” Hinds said the nation was “resounding” in its anger at the situation regarding the farmers, considering the Government’s stated policy on food security. He said there would always be challenges regarding land use as space became limited. He said past PNM governments had brought agricultural lands into residential use, including in St James, St Clair, and other places—as the population grew—and also at Pt Lisas for industrial purposes. He said the UNC also converted 160 Oropune acres.
Hinds added: “But we’re concerned about the immorality of this particular situation, since when we decided how we would use land they were strong in their condemnation of it and now despite promised new policy, they’re doing exactly the same thing. “Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath in Opposition strongly condemned the PNM and he’s now having difficulty with the issue and objecting from within the Cabinet.” Hinds called for Bharath to resign from the Cabinet after disagreeing with Moonilal on the land issue. He also called for Labour Minister Errol McLeod to resign after McLeod’s MSJ condemned the bulldozing.
Citing section 75 (1) of the Constitution on collective responsibility, Hinds said Cabinet members should speak with one voice. Hinds said when former PNM Labour Minister Larry Achong had disagreed with an issue, Achong had left the Cabinet. Calling on the Prime Minister to ensure Section 75 (1) was adhered to, Hinds said if she did not act, the PM would be “contributing to an abuse of the constitution and disrespect for collective responsibility.” Asked about resigning, Bharath said yesterday that ministerial appointments were the prime minister’s prerogative. McLeod, when asked if he would resign, also said: “Mr Hinds and his PNM small maxi don’t impress me at all.”
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Could this be yet another PR stunt that is not really going to help the people of Toco?
http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,164788.html
Keshorn housing community for Cumana
Wednesday, August 15 2012
A HOUSING development comprising 50 units will be constructed at Cumana, the sea-side village neighbouring Toco, by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in commemoration of the Olympic gold medal victory of Keshorn Walcott.
Managing director of the HDC Jearlean John yesterday told Newsday that the HDC expects to put the project out to open tender next month.
The housing development was announced by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at a welcome reception for Walcott at Piarco International Airport on Monday.
“This housing development is to be done by Ministry of Housing and HDC will bring housing and employment to Toco,” Persad-Bissessar said, adding the development would be named after Walcott.
John said there will be 50 lots, each with a three-bedroom house designed for a single family. Some units will be townhouses, others apartments. She said she could not give an estimated cost as the tender is going out next month.
Residents of the area will not be given automatic preference for occupation of the units.
Asked if residents of the Toco, Cumana area would be given priority access to the new development, John said, “the database at the Ministry of Housing will dictate that as all applicants must indicate areas of preference.”
She continued, “so persons indicating Toco/Cumana/Balandra/Rampanalgas and environs will be accommodated once they are allocated.”
Cumana falls in the marginal constituency of Toco/Sangre Grande, a seat currently held by Dr Rupert Griffith, the UNC MP and Minister of Science and Technology. Previously, the seat was held by the PNM’s Indira Sinanan Ojah-Maharaj.
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Eh Pee Pee people plan this right nah doh rush proper planning please .
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http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-06-24/hdc-foots-roodals-8m-range-rover-bill
HDC foots Roodal's $.8m Range Rover bill
One of the first issues that soon-to-be-appointed Housing Development Corporation (HDC) chairman Rabindra Moonan will have to deal with is whether he will approve the extension of a lease on a Range Rover for Minister of Housing Dr Roodal Moonilal. Moonilal currently enjoys the use of a black Range Rover leased by the HDC for $289,800 a year.
The Range Rover HSE, which carries the licence plate PCR 5656, has been leased from Furness Car Rentals. The T&T Guardian has confirmed that the HDC pays a monthly bill of $24,150 for the vehicle, while the total lease agreement for the three-year period is $869,400. Sources say the lease took effect on February 2011 and ends in February 2014. The Range Rover has been customised to include blue police strobe lights in the centre of the grill at the front and back. A police siren has also been installed.
Questions have been raised about why such a vehicle has been leased for the minister, and also why a state enterprise is financing the lease, given that the ministry that Moonilal heads has several vehicles which can be used for official government business. Apart from this, sources say other vehicles could have been leased at a much cheaper rate. Sources say when vehicles are leased, the ministers do not pay for the vehicles’ maintenance or operational costs. These costs as well as the leases are borne by taxpayers.
At the time of the approval, the HDC board was chaired by Henckle Lall and included Douglas Johnson, Gunness Sudama, Graig Davis, Reyna Kowlessar, Naddia Ali and James Lambert. Efforts to contact those board members were unsuccessful. Last year, a slew of criticism was levelled against then Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath over the purchase of a $400,000 duty-free Porsche Cayenne as the official vehicle for his ministry.
Bharath defended the purchase, saying it was not extravagant. Contacted on the matter, a government minister said if a request to lease the Range Rover had been made to Cabinet there would have been strong objection. Since the People’s Partnership government took office, ministers are now entitled to use a ministry vehicle for official purposes. This entitlement was put in place after Sport Minister Anil Roberts was involved in an accident on October 6, 2010.
Minister replies
In response to several text messages sent by the T&T Guardian, Moonilal yesterday responded by defending the use of the leased vehicle. He wrote: “The Rover is very sturdy. The vehicle was provided as a lease vehicle in keeping with (the) practice before to provide vehicle to minister. “I also use other vehicles depending on work requirements.
“As for choice, Rover is strong and equipped for the terrain. You seldom see a Rover in highway crash.” He added that Cepep also provided transport support when needed. The T&T Guardian then pointed out that such a high-maintenance vehicle “puts a strain on taxpayers, given there are other options,” to which Moonilal repled: “But Rover is very good vehicle, you should buy one if possible.”
The T&T Guardian repeated its initial question on whether Moonilal had approached the HDC board to ask it to lease the Range Rover. He is yet to respond. Asked whether he had received permission from the acting Commissioner of Police or Transport Commissioner to use the blue lights and siren on the Range Rover, Moonilal said he did not comment on matters of security.
“The devices are matters under the purview of security authorities, I don’t comment on security issues. Suffice to say we act according to the law at all times,” he texted.
Flashback
On January 17, 2012, Moonilal denied claims that his ministry had purchased a Range Rover for his use. Speaking during a Parliament debate, Moonilal said MPs are entitled to concessions on cars and most take advantage of these, using their personal funds. He said while in opposition he purchased a BMW X53 but subsequently sold it and bought a Range Rover for his personal use, using his personal funds.
Moonilal also said the Environment Ministry planned to buy two hybrid vehicles at a total cost of $600,000. To date, sources say this is yet to happen.
More info
According to the Salaries Review Commission Web site, the last pay hike for ministers and MPs was in 2006. The Prime Minister’s salary was increased to $48,000 a month; Cabinet ministers’ salaries increased to $33,000 a month and non-Cabinet ministers to $27,000. The Leader of the Opposition moved to $23,800, MPs (non-ministers) increased to $14,000 and senators (non-ministers) $10,500. Among the allowances given to government ministers are transport facilities. These include:
(i) A maximum loan of $350,000 at a six per cent per annum repayable over six years for the purchase of either:
(a) a new vehicle with full exemption from motor vehicle tax, VAT and customs duty; or
(b) a used vehicle with full exemption from special motor vehicle tax, VAT and customs duty.
(ii) A loan to cover the cost of car insurance at a rate of interest of six per cent per annum.
(iii) A maximum loan of $20,000 at a rate of interest of six per cent per annum for repairs to a vehicle.
(iv) A transportation allowance of $4,700 per month.
(v) A personal chauffeur
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It damn good for all of we.
“As for choice, Rover is strong and equipped for the terrain. You seldom see a Rover in highway crash.”
Terrain? Where de ass he hadda go as the minister of housing to be concerned bout terrain?
“But Rover is very good vehicle, you should buy one if possible.”
The T&T Guardian repeated its initial question on whether Moonilal had approached the HDC board to ask it to lease the Range Rover. He is yet to respond. Asked whether he had received permission from the acting Commissioner of Police or Transport Commissioner to use the blue lights and siren on the Range Rover, Moonilal said he did not comment on matters of security.
In other words...doh question me..and hush yuh ass. Dey might try to blame Rowley for dis too...he go say Rowley dare him to do it.
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They strong man... allyuh should buy one if possible..
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He said earlier this year his Ministry did not buy it 4 him he never said an agency of the Ministry eh buy it 4 him.
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In all likelihood Moonilal will become Political Leader one day. I cringe at the thought of him being a future PM .
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In all likelihood Moonill will become Political Leader one day. I cringe at the thought of him being a future PM .
U 4get who annoint him so he cut from d same cloth.
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So uh, I have two questions
What's the purpose of him having blue strobes?
(although russian politicians get into hot water for the same bling ting last year, so ah tink ah know)
and why does he speak without english articles in his sentences?
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HDC owed $12.4M
By ANDRE BAGOO (NEWSDAY).
THE HOUSING Development Corporation (HDC) is claiming $12.4 million it says is owed by a contractor at work on the long-delayed Victoria Keys, Diego Martin housing project, Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal said as he described a litany of gaps and problems with projects in the area.
Moonilal said the HDC projects, which he said once fell under former Housing Minister (now Opposition Leader) Dr Keith Rowley, have been delayed due to a long list of problems stemming from incomplete designs.
The Housing Minister said the Victoria Keys project — which features 288 units — would be completed by August and the Chaconia Crescent and Vieux Fort projects by 2015. In relation to Victoria Keys, he said no provision has been made for garbage disposal; disabled access and residential services. There was an instruction for another storey to be added onto the complex which features three buildings.
“The instruction to extend this building was made without reference to approvals,” Moonilal said. He said there were no provisions made for street lighting and external lighting as well as telecommunications, cable, CCTV and other infrastructure such as community pathways and links. Moonilal said the project had fallen victim recently, to a contractor delay, but he did not provide specifics.
He said the HDC was seeking to get the $12.4 million sum from the contractor. In relation to Chaconia Crescent, he said a storey was similarly added to that project and variations and omissions in designs caused problems. Some aspects omitted included: external works required a car park; retaining walls; underground storage tanks; paving; lighting; a guard booth and landscaping. There were four separate contracts, resulting in oversight problems as one project management team was not appointed. The project saw, “theft and pilferage of electrical items.”
“They had serious deficiencies of design and a failure to have a scope of works,” Moonilal said. He said these gaps in design occurred while the then Government boasted about its quick record of housing. There were also missing aspects of the design for Vieux Fort including missing plans for water and sewerage; electricity; lighting; garbage disposal; retaining walls and an entrance gate, the Minister said.
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No election gimmick delivery, says Moonilal
By Anna Ramdass (Express)
100 houses a week
Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal says his promise to deliver 100 houses a week from next week Saturday to December 31, 2015, is no election gimmick.
If the houses are delivered, there will be over 4,000 new Government homeowners this year.
Moonilal said this was part of the People’s Partnership policy of delivery to the people.
He said the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), under the “sterling” leadership of managing director Jearlean John and chairman Rabindra Moonan, has been working to ensure the housing sites are completed.
“Yes, we have been working for three full years, silently along the radar, on a massive construction programme that is now bearing fruit, so that we are in a position where our construction agenda has now synchronised with our distribution policy, and we are in a position now to distribute 100 homes per week for the rest of the year,” Moonilal said in a telephone interview with the Express yesterday.
Moonilal who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Oropouche East and leader of Government Business in Parliament, said the keys for the first set of 100 houses will be distributed next week Saturday at the Carlson Field housing site.
He said other sites where houses will be given out include Diego Martin, Union Hall, Point Fortin, Princes Town, Chaguanas and Couva, among others.
Moonilal said 80 per cent of the houses to be distributed are new homes that were constructed from 2010 under this Government, led by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
He said a significant number of houses that were left in derelict condition from under the former People’s National Movement (PNM) regime were repaired and would also be finally given to the people.
According to Express calculations, 100 houses from March 14 to December 31 amounts to some 4,200 houses over the next ten months.
Moonilal said there are over 160,000 people on the HDC’s database, waiting for houses.
He said the ministry and HDC will continue their construction drive in the south, central and north of the country.
“I am extremely happy and excited for those who will be in possession of their new homes; we are very excited that the ministry can do this this year, it has been a lot of hard work,” said Moonilal.
“I congratulate the board, led by Mr Moonan, and the management, led by Miss Jearlean John, on this historic period we will now embark upon; it is truly a sign of victory in the housing sector,” said Moonilal.
Questioned on why wait until an election year to distribute the houses and whether this would not be perceived as an election ploy, Moonilal responded, “I’ve heard that argument and we have the option of post-poning the distribution until after the next general election. If we do that, persons would be patient enough to know that they will get a home?”
He said the names of persons to receive a home can be given out and the houses distributed after election, but he was sure people would not want to be told to wait longer for a home for which they have been waiting years.
The minister noted some people have been waiting over 15 to 20 years for an HDC home, and part of the distribution drive will focus on some of these people, under the theme, “It’s been a long time coming”.
He said there was also a policy window to ensure all different components of society receive housing under this drive, including law enforcement officers and the differently abled.
Moonilal said the issuing of keys weekly will not be done with pomp and fanfare on every occasion.
He said the Prime Minister will be invited to the bigger functions but overall, “it will be a low-keyed and informal exercise, myself and other relevant MPs and ministers will be present. We also have a special creative distribution technique that we will be using where the distribution may not involve any Government officials at all”.
Moonilal said the fact that this Government can achieve this speaks volumes to its devotion to the people and providing to their needs.
“I am extremely proud that we can distribute 100 homes per week. I’m proud that we have opened six police stations that have been completed recently, and I’m proud of the Mayaro Fire Station, the Couva Children’s Hospital, the San Fernando Teaching Hospital, construction beginning at the Point Fortin Hospital, the Arima Hospital. We have had a great first innings and by the will of God, we shall have a second innings as well,” he said.
NO DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT CONFLICT
Moonilal also pointed out when the construction drives began, there were challenges in the forms of protests by farmers.
In 2011, some farmers who were growing crops in Pineapple Smith Lands, off Crescent Gardens, Mausica Road, D’Abadie, and Egypt Trace, Chaguanas, protested vehemently against the HDC, claiming their produce was being destroyed.
Moonilal said he feels particularly proud to have delivered the completion of the housing site at Egypt Trace.
“When I started, there was a protest that I should be fired for bulldozing crops and lands. Today, in that Chaguanas area, we have built a new city and the very people who were protesting then are now asking for houses for their children today, so I am very proud of that estate and that is national development. There can be no development without conflict,” he said.
On Tuesday, at a news conference at the Opposition Leader’s office, Diego Martin North-East MP Colm Imbert had raised concerns about the Government’s suppressing of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) report, which should have been laid in Parliament since last April. Imbert claimed the Government was engaged in voter and house padding.
“I think he’s an authority on that, so he probably feeling that every Government will behave like this,” said Moonilal.
Asked whether the Government is involved in voters and house padding, he responded: “Absolutely not. We distribute upon what we have and the construction we had embarked upon.”
The People’s Partnership tenure comes to an end on May 24, 2015. The Parliament will automatically be dissolved in June. Constitutionally, general elections must be held by September this year.
Persad-Bissessar said on Monday the Government still has work to complete before she calls an election date.
The areas and the number of houses to be delivered
1. Carlsen Field 3C 701
2. Chaconia Cresent, Four Roads 96
3. Greenvale Park 346
4. La Fortune, Point Fortin 42
5. Beetham, Lot A and B 12
6. Victoria Keyes 264
7. Fairfield Est, Princes Town 574
8. Cypress Gardens, Union Hall 1,190
9. Oasis, Egypt Village 1,066
10. Hubertstown, Guapo 50
11. Trestrail Farms 1,204
12. Eden Gardens 618
13. Bon Air North 398
14. Buen Intento/Princes Town 116
15. 6th Avenue, Malick 34
16. Vieux Fort, St James 132
17. Exchange, Couva 257
19. Pier Road, La Brea 90
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These same houses that was poorly constructed is being given out? Or did they build them like the 80 schools?
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Form still not working.... :-\
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From 2010 to 2015 , HDC has distributed about 4500 houses. What is the possibility of them achieving 5000 in 10 months?
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All these houses, were they built before the govt came to power or are they new contstructed by the PP ?
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looking good for SP now. If he can prove his tanty is Guyanese (and wear a yellow juzzy when applying) maybe.. just maybe, he can score a house.
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looking good for SP now. If he can prove his tanty is Guyanese (and wear a yellow juzzy when applying) maybe.. just maybe, he can score a house.
I actually know of Guyanese who have applied for HDC housing in T&T within the last 5 years and got a house in front of born and bred Trinis who applied for HDC housing over 10 years ago and are still waiting.
Anyone who honestly believes that 100 houses per week are going to be given out without favoritism by the PPG in an election year is way more gullible than I first gave them credit for. This announcement is an election gimmick for political gain and any sensible thinking person will know that despite the shameless denial.
Your PP government is totally corrupt and racist and everyone with a working brain cell knows it.
Now stop calling up my name at every opportunity in your posts like if you have been emotionally injured in some way by Socapro and so constantly have him on your mind.
PS:
And just for folks like Jumbie who like to fabricate bogus arguments, I have nothing against East Indians or Guyanese (got East Indian relatives and very close Guyanese friends) but I am against racial discrimination by those in government and in public office.
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It shouldn't matter what nationality they are... as long as they qualify and wait their turn like everybody else.
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:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: too easy!
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It shouldn't matter what nationality they are... as long as they qualify and wait their turn like everybody else.
:beermug:
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:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: too easy!
Yes its too easy for you to talk shit. I suggest you stop calling up my name in your post my friend especially when you are presenting an argument that is only valid in your imagination.
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Oh yeah - the simplistic answer to all these woes have been from the onset to blame the PNM- five FIRE TRUCKING years to get it right and the best defence is to blame - look Why they eh shut the Fire Turck up and act with good governance.
Tell meh - Five years to allocate houses yet all of a sudden reports flying around of upwards to 100 houses avaliable daily!!!!
Boi election buy outs election more pay outs
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To be honest, it is a straight case of using your political capital. Is it wrong. Probably yes, from a moral aspect. But not illegal. This is normal for politics. Of course if you are PNM, you would think it is immoral.But are these houses the ones built during PNM tenure, that were deemed no suitable for living.
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To be honest, it is a straight case of using your political capital. Is it wrong. Probably yes, from a moral aspect. But not illegal. This is normal for politics. Of course if you are PNM, you would think it is immoral.But are these houses the ones built during PNM tenure, that were deemed no suitable for living.
Why is it not illegal?! I am not a PNM as I have never voted for them and I still think it is immoral and should be illegal. I think it should be illegal as the HDC houses distribution process does not seem to be fair and transparent as it should be since T&T taxpayers money is involved.
If I applied for an HDC house 15 years ago and I am still renting now when I could have paid off at least half of my mortgage since then, why should someone who has applied for an HDC house within the last 5 years get a house before me especially if they are not a born and bred Trini like I am?
Most if not all the Houses being given out now were built by the PNM. The PP/UNC has hardly built any new houses in their last 5 years in power. They have mostly completed houses that the PNM were already building when they lost the general elections in 2010.
It seems that the giving out of houses was deliberately held back till now by the PP/UNC to use as an election campaign ploy. At least when the PNM called the general elections early in 2010 they can't be accused of doing the same as the UNC is doing now which is immorally using the distribution of houses to those who they want votes from as political capital.
The PP/UNC tries to justify all their immoral/corrupt practices by saying that the PNM also did it but it is not always the case and at any rate the PP/UNC has excelled in corruption and immorality in every department above any other political party in T&T and Caribbean history.
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It seems that the giving out of houses was deliberately held back till now by the PP/UNC to use as an election campaign ploy.
It is a campaign ploy. But is it written on the law books to be illegal. Okay, it is illegal and not transparent. But who going to stop them. The court is in their pocket, so they are a waste of time. This will be completed before elections, so the "damage' will be completed. And it may very well work for them. Because all those who get houses will vote for Kamla. Patos should have given out the houses before spending all that time and money with a NAPA for the Queen and Commonwealth meeting.
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To be honest, it is a straight case of using your political capital. Is it wrong. Probably yes, from a moral aspect. But not illegal. This is normal for politics. Of course if you are PNM, you would think it is immoral.But are these houses the ones built during PNM tenure, that were deemed no suitable for living.
so goes politics and campaigning.
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LAND AHOY
Govt to spend billions: 4,000 plots for middle class per year
By Ria Taitt Political Editor
Land for so.
Government yesterday unveiled a billion-dollar-a-year “land for the landless’’ programme aimed at distributing 3,000 to 4,000 serviced lots each year for four years to qualifying nationals.
Minister of State Lands Jairam Seemungal, in making the announcement at the post-Cabinet news conference, also revealed that “land for the landless’’ has been redefined to include those persons making as much as $30,000 a month. The original income ceiling was $10,000 a month.
“We are looking at this entire exercise and the amount of land that we are looking at (distributing),...The investment (would be) of at least close to $1 billion per year... because under the programme we want to target 3,000 to 4,000 lots per year,” he said .
The announcement is coming on the heels of Government’s disclosure that it would be distributing 100 Housing Development Corporation (HDC) units each week from now till December.
In response to questions, however, Seemungal said this was no electioneering gimmick. “This has nothing to do with election gimmick because the time-frame is between now and four years,” he said.
He said the Government was merely trying to expand the programme to help the middle-income persons, who under the previous arrangement were “eliminated”.
Persons such as “young entrepreneurs, lawyers, doctors and persons employed by the State whose salaries are over $10,000” were now entitled to the subsidised programme, granted that their household is no more that $30,000 a month, he said.
Right now there are fully developed lots in Chaguanas but they are valued at $600,000, he said. “That is why we are expanding the programme to allow those making more money to qualify...because we have found that close to 60 per cent of the applicants are from this ($30,000 a month) category.
He outlined how the State would subsidise the costs:
1. Lands valued up to $250,000 — up to 80 per cent.
2. Lands valued at between $250,000 and $300,000 — up to 70 per cent.
3. Lands valued at between $300,000 and $350,000 — 50 per cent.
4. Lands over $350,000 — 30 per cent.
He said this would ensure that the State recovers the “full cost of construction for the development of these sites and the excess in the lands over $350,000 would be used to meet the infrastructure development costs of the land that are valued at a lower cost”.
But Seemungal stated in order to avoid speculation where persons buy such lots and sell them at a premium, the deed for such lots would stipulate these lands cannot be sold and could only pass by will to one’s children. It would be “land for life”, he stressed.
“Even if someone else tries to buy the land, they would not be able to acquire any proper documentation for these lands,” he said.
Citing the fact that the Fraud Squad was currently investigating ‘’land grabbers’’ who in the past had taken State Lands and ‘’sold’’ it, Seemungal said Government wanted to prevent any profiteering by unscrupulous persons in this Land for Landless programme.
Persons benefiting from the programme must also own no other property, he said.
Funding to be sourced from private sector
Seemungal also explained the funding for the infrastructural development of the land would be sourced from the private sector. He said private contractors would be short-listed by the Land Settlement Agency and would tender for the projects. “And it would be up to the evaluation team to determine which ones have the best designs and the best fit to develop the particular sites,” he said.
“The Land Settlement Agency will enter into an agreement with successful companies. The companies will provide 100 per cent funding for the development and the sites. The Commissioner of Valuation would determine the market price for the lots to be sold and the Land Settlement Agency would be responsible for the sale of the developed lots under the Land for the Landless programme,” he said.
Seemungal said during the four years that the lands are being developed, the private companies involved would be paid, “in addition to the cost of the contract, interest on the money spent on a reducing balance based on negotiated rates at lending rates of the current banking system”.
Asked about the potential for corruption in the new arrangement, he said he was confident that the public servants were capable of handling the programme. “The issue of corruption is something everyone tries to use for elections, whether it (the allegation of corruption) sticks or not, is something for the electorate to decide,” he said.
The Land for the Landless programme, was launched in 2012. But Seemungal said the Land Settlement Agency had to ensure it got the necessary approvals which included Town and Country Planning, EMA, T&TEC, Highway Division, Drainage Division and other statutory approvals before the lots could become available.
The first ceremony for the issuing of leases will be held on March 25. He said to date there are 60,000 applications under this programme and 23,000 applications under the Squatter Regularisation Programme.
Seemungal said leases were to be given to persons living at:
Ackbarali Trace, Arima
Harmony Hall, Gasparillo
John Boodhoo Trace, Brazil
Samaroo Village, Arima
Wellington Road, Debe
Bonaire North, Arouca
Retrench Village, San Fernando
Cashew Gardens, Carlsen Field
Milton Village, Couva
La Paille, Caroni
Pine Settlement, Sangre Grande
Jacob Hill, Wallerfield
Squatterville, Macaulay.
“I recommend that persons living in these area contact the Land Settlement Agency....to ensure that their names are on the list of the issuing of leases under the Land for the Landless programme and the Squatter Regularisation programme,” he said.
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Seemungal also explained the funding for the infrastructural development of the land would be sourced from the private sector. He said private contractors would be short-listed by the Land Settlement Agency
Well Breds, if allyuh want to eat ah food, better fall in line!
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Joint income of 30,000 a month is now considered middle class. Your government working for you certainly not working for me.
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SMFH.......they can't be more obvious with the attempt to buy votes........all of a sudden some one making $30,000 a month need state land.
Meanwhile, I like de arse buy land and paying mortgage every friggin month!!! If I see Kamla or any of she croonies ah buss dey firetrucking head!!!!
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Charles knocks PP’s HDC house distribution (http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,208318.html)
Sunday, March 15 2015 (T&T Newsday)
NATIONAL Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) Political Leader Dr Carson Charles has criticised People’s National Movement (PNM) Political Leader and Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley claiming he has a history of standing up for the rich and wealthy but not the poor.
“He has no track record, even in his own constituency, of standing up for the poor,” he said.
He was speaking yesterday at a NAR mobilisation meeting at Alliance House, Victoria Square, Port-of- Spain. He said the PNM is about promoting the maintenance of order and supporting the rich and giving the poor “crumbs” to remain poor. He noted the NAR preferred to fix the Government rather than go with the “backwardness” of the PNM and its even more “backward leader”.
Charles also spoke about the Government’s announcement that it will distribute 100 houses per week and said “I find it curious that (Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal) now has houses to give out”. He noted while it was good to distribute houses and land, 100 houses per week calculated to 5,200 houses per year while 100,000 people wanted houses. He suggested a programme that would help people to get houses for themselves.
A man in the crowd called out “how many houses you would give out” repeatedly and Charles responded that it was not a public meeting.
Continuing in his speech he said the NAR’s colleague political parties were “immature” in terms of age and that PNM was the only other mature party though it is “inherently corrupt.” Charles also noted others have taken the PNM “short cut”, saying there are those who have been grabbing things today and not thinking of tomorrow.
He said the People’s Partnership Government has done a lot but also has not done much of what people expected. He stressed, however, that instead of condemning the current administration, the NAR will seek to help them and reach out as a mature organisation; the NAR plans to partner with the Government for this year’s general election.
“I am not pleased with everything I see. But you do not throw out the baby with the bath water,” he said.
Charles said they were asking constituency groups to identify candidates for screeening and selection by the party. He also reported that the party will have to get active in fundraising and spoke of a plan to reactivate the concept of the “A-Team”. He predicted that a “new coalition” will emerge and the NAR will lend their experience to that.
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Singh in reply to Opposition question:
$2.26bn spent on 6,999 houses in four years (http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2015-03-18/226bn-spent-6999-houses-four-years)
By Gail Alexander (T&T Guardian)
Published: Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Government spent $2.26 billion to build and complete 6,999 houses all over T&T between 2010 and 2014, PP Senate leader Ganga Singh said yesterday.
Replying to an Opposition question in the Senate, Singh said some houses only had to be completed but others were built.
Areas where houses were built included several parts of Corinth, San Fernando, where over 900 houses were built.
It also included east Port-of-Spain. Singh confirmed houses at Trestrail Lands and Victoria Keys were not included on that list of houses completed or built.
He said the Justice Ministry received an allocation of $1.5 million from 2011 to 2014 for ads and public relations campaigns and spent $1.4 million.
Energy Minister Ken Ramnarine said his ministry spent $8.6 million on similar items from 2011 to 2014.
PNM Senator Camille Robinson-Regis expressed concerns she had aired at previous sessions on similar replies to questions of the same nature. She said figures presented by ministers did not match those in budget documents.
Finance Minister Larry Howai, saying his ministry is involved in an exercise to reconcile these figures, explained the heading for the figures in the budget documents was an overall one under which fell items, such a call cards, calendars, manuals for state enterprises and other things as well as costs for PR, promotions, publicity and the like and the latter costs — a subset of the entire figure — was given by ministers in their replies.
He said the figures were correct and the ministry asked other ministries to submit accounts annually.
He said the information was audited by the Auditor General and figures were presented to Parliament at year end.
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100-home plan
By Shaliza Hassanali
Guardian
NQ plots major diversification drive
State-owned National Quarries (NQ) is toying with the idea of building houses on its sprawling 2,600-acre quarry at Turure in Valencia, as part of its drive to clear a $35 million debt, chairman Keshwar Maharaj says.
The matter was discussed by its seven-member board but no final decision has yet been taken.
“It is on discussion right now,” Maharaj said in an interview at his Arouca office on Wednesday.
“We have a lot of things we can do...like building houses.”
Maharaj said construction of homes was one of several ideas NQ had thrown out as it continues to diversify and create a strategic approach for the company’s upward mobility. The company had undertaken a comprehensive review of its operations and emerged with a profit-oriented focus, he said.
Last year, NQ established a successful agricultural project at Turure, also known as its Sand & Gravel Division, to earn income since it does not receive subventions from the Government.
“We generate our own funds,” Maharaj pointed out.
Maharaj said if its Turure quarry was properly managed, it had the potential to turn into a flourishing eco-tourism destination for visitors and locals.
The quarry’s land space was vast, Maharaj said. “We have lands in there, you know. Inside of Turure has over 2,000 acres. So if we take 100 acres you know how many houses you can build on that?”
NQ’s Web site lists Turure’s total acreage at 2,600.
Although deep craters are visible due to the quarry’s mining there, some areas are covered with greenery and thick vegetation along its dirt roads. Overlooking the breezy hilltops one can also see the Caroni plains and the extensive land mass has a breathtaking view at strategic points.
Turure is one of two quarries from which NQ extracts aggregate. The other is at Verdant Vale, Blanchisseuse, which has approximately 117 acres.
Asked how many houses they were looking to construct, Maharaj replied, “We don’t know, as I say, it is just something.”
Questioned if they would partner with the Housing Development Corporation should the company’s plans become a reality, Maharaj shook his head in the affirmative. But he said he had not discussed the matter with Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal.
“It was suggested before. As I said, we want to make sure that when we get into something, we do something that is feasible.”
Land wasting
Stating that the country’s land space for housing was dwindling, Maharaj added, “So we could build some high-end houses. We could have a man-made lake and things in there.” He said NQ could build the houses and make it into a gated community which would create a different ambience.
Maharaj said all NQ needed was capital.
“We already have the aggregate for construction.”
If they were to start construction of 100 homes, Maharaj said, they would need about 12 acres of land.
“If you looking at 5,000 square feet, which is the standard size of a lot of land, about eight houses would fit on an acre of land. So that is 12 acres of land.”
He said three additional acres could be used to develop roads.
At Turure, Maharaj said, NQ had been looking at other projects, one of which was a ceramic industry where they could convert raw materials into tiles. NQ has also held discussions with the T&T Automobile Association to create a monster truck circuit as well.
“Wasted land is wasted money. Acreages that are used and cannot be mined again we just cannot leave it idle.”
He also does not believe that NQ is spreading its wings too fast, stating the initiatives undertaken in the last few months have not had a negative impact on its financial and technical resources.
“We are doing it on a phased basis by bringing programmes and initiatives into the company.”
Inherited situation
Following his appointment 15 months ago, Maharaj said, he was faced with a $35 million debt the company had incurred.
“There were royalties which were outstanding over the years which we never paid to the State. That would have been about $20 million,” he said.
The royalties have to be repaid to the Ministry of Finance.
The remaining $15 million was owed to Malaysian-based Sunway Quarries Industries (Caribbean) Ltd for processing and crushing of materials at Verdant Vale. Sunway left Trinidad last October after Government failed to renew its contract.
Maharaj said NQ has negotiated a settlement with Sunway, which they were still paying. But, he said, they had found innovative ways to repay their debts.
“We will continue to pay as we source funds from sales.”
He said by the end of 2015 the debts should have been settled and the company would be on a firm footing.
Though the profits they have been making are being used to pay off debts, Maharaj said, “We want to treat National Quarries as a private sector company. It has not created a burden on the State.”
Attempts to contact Moonilal about NQ’s housing idea were unsuccessful up to yesterday, as he did not return calls or e-mails.
...starting new quarry in Grande too
Next month, the Ministry of Energy will grant National Quarries (NQ) a licence to operate its third quarry at Brigand Hill, Sangre Grande, which has more than $2 billion worth of limestone.
The licence will pave the way for the mineral to be mined from the ten-acre quarry, which will be used for government’s road paving projects and the construction sector.
Among the road networks to be completed is the country’s $7 billion extension of the Solomon Hochoy Highway to Point Fortin.
Aggregate will also be needed for the proposed construction of a $16 billion highway from San Fernando to Mayaro and developmental projects, mainly the building of homes under the Housing Development Corporation.
Limestone is a hard sedimentary rock used in the making of cement and building materials.
NQ chairman Keshwar Maharaj said in an interview that as road paving and developmental projects intensified, contractors, batching plants and hardwares would require a larger volume of limestone.
NQ currently mines from two quarries at Valencia and Blanchisseuse.
In January, Maharaj said, NQ and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) had also agreed upon a bartering system with materials.
The THA extracts aggregate from the Studley Park Quarry.
“We are working on a bartering system...so there is no cash involved between the two entities.”
Maharaj said the THA needed NQ’s sharp sand for construction and road paving, while they would supply them with aggregate.
“The THA trucks will load their materials and bring it to us. They in turn will load up our materials and take it back to Tobago on the boat.”
Maharaj said both organisations would start with the exchange of 1,000 cubic yards of minerals.
“By next month a licence will be issued by the ministry to operate a limestone quarry at Brigand Hill. We would have materials for over 20 to 30 years, given the demand in the construction industry.”
NQ estimated the quarry has approximately $2 billion in limestone, he said.
As it stands now, Maharaj said, the demand for aggregate far exceeded its supply, which sometimes resulted in Government importing from the Dominican Republic and other regional countries.
“This quarry will help when there is a shortfall.”
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500 get chance in first HDC draw.
By Sharlene Rampersad
Debt collectors hunt for $300m
In just a few days, 500 of the thousands of applicants waiting to be allocated a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) home will be chosen through a random draw, Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal said yesterday.
He made the comment during an address to recipients at the HDC’s key distribution ceremony at the Mora Heights Housing Development, Rio Claro, where 130 families were given keys to their new homes.
“This Wednesday, April 15, the first 500 random names will be chosen to receive houses and we will be carrying out this distribution over the next five weeks. We are ensuring that everyone has a fair opportunity to get a home,” Moonilal said.
He said construction of houses within the Mora Heights development began back in 2007, but was put on hold by the previous administration.
“When we came into office and realised the demand for housing had already far surpassed the supply, we unlocked this stalled project and were able to complete it. Today you have 130 single unit three-bedroom houses that these families can call home.”
While he renewed his pledge to give out 100 a week, he sent out a word of caution to hopeful applicants, telling them that the process to get a home takes time.
“Giving out houses is not like giving out doubles, I am accountable for every single unit that is allocated. I could be investigated at anytime and this process is one that needs to be able to stand up to scrutiny. Even if it comes ten years from now, the proper process must be followed.”
New accounting plan
HDC chairman Rabindra Moonan reiterated that errant tenants and homeowners currently owed almost $300 million in arrears.
“Currently the HDC is owed $291 million by homeowners and tenants who are in arrears. Some people basically just never paid anything since they moved in. There is one tenant in an apartment where the rent is $100 a month and he now owes $13,000.”
Moonan said HDC had employed the services of debt collectors to recover the monies and new accounting procedures had been put in place.
“We have implemented a new accounting procedure to prevent a repeat of this. As soon as you lapse on your payments we will be sending notices immediately. For those who are owing right now, we have employed debt collectors to recover these monies.”
But Moonilal gave the assurance that the HDC's clientele would not be evicted from their apartments because of failure to pay their arrears.
"We definitely will not be evicting anyone from their homes. We will deal with everyone in the most humane and understanding manner,” he said. Addressing the new homeowners, Mayaro MP Winston ‘Gypsy’ Peters urged them to band together to create a community where they would all feel welcome.
“You have a wonderful opportunity to create a community from scratch; you can form neighbourhood associations to look after your needs,” he said.
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Homes for 500
By CAROL MATROO
Thursday, April 16 2015
The dreams of 500 people came true yesterday as their names were picked at random ( :rotfl: ) during an electronic lottery draw at the headquarters of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), South Quay, Port-of-Spain.
Scores of people gathered at the HDC, hoping their names would be called. However, many were disappointed, some saying they have been waiting for years to get a home.
The draw was carried live with the names of the lucky homeowners on air. The names, chosen from the Housing Ministry’s database, would also be published in the newspapers from this Sunday until Tuesday. The chosen people would begin their processing next month.
Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal, while announcing that Government had fulfilled it promise to provide quality homes for citizens, criticised St Joseph MP Terrence Deyalsingh for his statements that the People’s Partnership Government was victimising the people of this country, claiming they were being told to “buy their homes or get out.”
Deyalsingh, on a morning talk show, said someone at the age of 58, would have to pay over $11,000 in installments every month.
“I was confused by the pronouncements by one Terrence Deyalsingh who was making false, misleading statements...Why wilfully create confusion in people’s minds, why try to create panic within the minds of our public?” he asked.
He said it was under the PNM’s stewardship that houses were built, but not vested, no Town and Country approval and waste water facilities.
Moonilal said it was Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar who stated that everyone should be given the chance to own their own home and instituted the random draw to ensure there was equity. He said there would be another draw to select another 500, not withstanding the policy prescriptions.
“Our policy is a humane one where every single citizen can be afforded a home because the poorest person would be getting public assistance from Government and that public assistance we can use for some type of housing arrangement,” he explained.
The minister also urged the new homeowners to pay their mortgages on time, saying the HDC was owed over $291 million in arrears through mortgage and rental.
“This is an accumulation over time, not something that started today and $291 million can build us over 800 units,” he said.
“That has occurred because of a culture, it is not just that persons are delinquent. It is a culture that has emerged in the housing sector where people were told they ought not pay for a government house, the house belongs to you and it is free. This is why that culture emerged and we are trying to break that culture by developing a culture of discipline.
“I am hoping that we can deal humanely with those who are delinquent and we can put a payment process in place. Let us leave the irresponsibility of the past behind, be a role model and pay your bills to the HDC...$291 million is a lot of money to be owing the HDC at a time like this when we face economic challenges,” Moonilal said.
The minister said the National Housing Allocation Policy was in place to ensure selected persons were qualified citizens and could afford the allocated housing unit, to provide to citizens with the greatest need, and give all applicants a fair chance of selection.
He said applicants must be citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, 21 years and over, a first time homeowner, not an owner or part time owner of any property in TT, and their monthly income must not exceed $45,000.
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MSJ takes on HDC.
By Sharlene Rampersad (Guardian)
After 30-day notices to complete payments...
Hundreds of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) clients who are occupying homes under the Lease to Own (LTO) or Rent to Own (RTO) programmes are being given 30-day notices to complete payments on their homes or face eviction, Movement for Social Justice leader David Abdulah said yesterday.
Speaking at a press conference at the MSJ headquarters in San Fernando, Abdulah said the HDC was invoking a clause from the clients’ original agreements to deprive them of their homes.
“This, while it may be legal according to the sale agreement, is totally unjust, this is injustice. It is going to lead to the dispossession of people’s homes. The MSJ is opposed to it. We say this is wrong,” Abdulah said.
He said the HDC had been putting out ads to this effect in the media but he said the MSJ would stand by the homeowners in the matter.
“You may have seen ads appearing in the newspaper over the last few days. The ads are HDC ads so this is not something the MSJ is making up. We are prepared to stand with homeowners in solidarity on this issue,” he added.
The problem with the 30-day ultimatum, Abdulah said, was that it may force some homeowners into the streets.
“Now that may have been in the original agreement but quite clearly people cannot be occupying and paying rent very judiciously from whenever they got their leases, for six or more years, then being told after six years that you have 30 days to get a mortage,” he added.
In fact, he said, there were many people who have RTO agreements who were already close to retirement age and could not qualify for a mortage.
He added: “The person who has been renting and is now in their mid-50s and is told by the financial institution they only have about four years to pay off their mortage, though the interest may be low, the monthly payment is going to be very high because the timeframe to pay off the mortage is very small.
“And the qualifying income for the mortage is going to be very high so persons, including public servants, police officers, teachers, will not qualify for the mortage and if they don’t qualify for the mortage they can’t pay off the purchase price to the HDC and therefore they’ll be out in the street, homeless.”
Abdulah gave members of the media a copy of one of the letters he said was sent to a homeowner but said the name and address of the person were blacked out so the person would not face discrimination.
He said interested homeowners could contact the MSJ at 657-0408 if they wanted representation.
Political Mischief
Housing Development Corporation managing director Jearlean John yesterday accused MSJ leader David Abdulah of creating “political mischief” over the matter yesterday.
“As far as I am concerned, they misrepresented the facts by presenting these letters the way they did.
“There is no need for this grand stand. It amounts to nothing more than political mischief. We don’t want to kick anyone out of their homes,” John said.
She said the letters would have been most likely sent out to clients who ignored numerous requests from the HDC to come in and talk about getting a mortage but added that the HDC was in the process of drafting another letter to send to clients.
“We don’t have a name to these letters but it would have been sent to someone who ignored continued requests to come into the HDC and get started on their mortage.
“But right now we are in the process of drafting another letter, one that cannot be misunderstood so easily,” she added.
She said clients whose financial situation had changed so much that they now could not afford a mortage would either have their licence to occupy extended or a rental agreement drawn up.
“Once they come to us, tell us what is going on, we will make other arrangements to either extend the LTO or draw up a rental agreement. We will not be putting people out of their houses,” she added.
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MSJ takes on HDC.
By Sharlene Rampersad (Guardian)
After 30-day notices to complete payments...
Hundreds of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) clients who are occupying homes under the Lease to Own (LTO) or Rent to Own (RTO) programmes are being given 30-day notices to complete payments on their homes or face eviction, Movement for Social Justice leader David Abdulah said yesterday.
Speaking at a press conference at the MSJ headquarters in San Fernando, Abdulah said the HDC was invoking a clause from the clients’ original agreements to deprive them of their homes.
“This, while it may be legal according to the sale agreement, is totally unjust, this is injustice. It is going to lead to the dispossession of people’s homes. The MSJ is opposed to it. We say this is wrong,” Abdulah said.
He said the HDC had been putting out ads to this effect in the media but he said the MSJ would stand by the homeowners in the matter.
“You may have seen ads appearing in the newspaper over the last few days. The ads are HDC ads so this is not something the MSJ is making up. We are prepared to stand with homeowners in solidarity on this issue,” he added.
The problem with the 30-day ultimatum, Abdulah said, was that it may force some homeowners into the streets.
“Now that may have been in the original agreement but quite clearly people cannot be occupying and paying rent very judiciously from whenever they got their leases, for six or more years, then being told after six years that you have 30 days to get a mortage,” he added.
In fact, he said, there were many people who have RTO agreements who were already close to retirement age and could not qualify for a mortage.
He added: “The person who has been renting and is now in their mid-50s and is told by the financial institution they only have about four years to pay off their mortage, though the interest may be low, the monthly payment is going to be very high because the timeframe to pay off the mortage is very small.
“And the qualifying income for the mortage is going to be very high so persons, including public servants, police officers, teachers, will not qualify for the mortage and if they don’t qualify for the mortage they can’t pay off the purchase price to the HDC and therefore they’ll be out in the street, homeless.”
Abdulah gave members of the media a copy of one of the letters he said was sent to a homeowner but said the name and address of the person were blacked out so the person would not face discrimination.
He said interested homeowners could contact the MSJ at 657-0408 if they wanted representation.
Political Mischief
Housing Development Corporation managing director Jearlean John yesterday accused MSJ leader David Abdulah of creating “political mischief” over the matter yesterday.
“As far as I am concerned, they misrepresented the facts by presenting these letters the way they did.
“There is no need for this grand stand. It amounts to nothing more than political mischief. We don’t want to kick anyone out of their homes,” John said.
She said the letters would have been most likely sent out to clients who ignored numerous requests from the HDC to come in and talk about getting a mortage but added that the HDC was in the process of drafting another letter to send to clients.
“We don’t have a name to these letters but it would have been sent to someone who ignored continued requests to come into the HDC and get started on their mortage.
“But right now we are in the process of drafting another letter, one that cannot be misunderstood so easily,” she added.
She said clients whose financial situation had changed so much that they now could not afford a mortage would either have their licence to occupy extended or a rental agreement drawn up.
“Once they come to us, tell us what is going on, we will make other arrangements to either extend the LTO or draw up a rental agreement. We will not be putting people out of their houses,” she added.
this whole "gov't in the business of giving out mortgages / acting like bank" don't really seem sustainable to me and is ripe for political exploitation by both parties to the overall detriment of the whole country. Frustrating to see that in everything they do nobody really love T&T.
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PM promises sweet deals
By Richard Lord (Guardian)
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says citizens who have been renting Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) units for more than 30 years will be allowed to purchase those houses for a mere $100 if the People’s Partnership gets a second term in office.
She also promised to regularise some 30,000 squatters as she unveiled what she said would be some of the party’s policy plans for the future during the United National Congress’ Monday Night Forum at the Diego Martin North Secondary School last night.
Noting that she may be attacked by the Opposition for the policies, she said: “And they will say Kamla come here with election promise to give away but I tell you, I know what it is like.”
Persad-Bissessar also reiterated that there would be no cuts in jobs and wages and said her Government had big plans for the northwest region, which included job security and the planned Chaguaramas development.
She also explained why she lived at her private Phillipines, San Fernando, residence and not at the official PM’s residence in St Ann’s, pointing out it had been raised recently by those opposing her. She said the official residence meant nothing to her and she went to her private home to be with her family.
Speaking just before the PM, Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal once again tore into Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley for going to Parliament in 2013 “with fake e-mails" as he named Government officials in a conspiracy to murder a journalist and to bug the office of the DPP.
He dared the police and the Integrity Commission, which are investigating the Emailgate issue independently, to say if their information on the e-mails was different from that of Google and the US State Department, which have both indicated that the e-mail address from which the e-mails were purported to have been sent does not exist.
Moonilal said while Rowley did not take the matter to the police and Integrity Commission for investigation, he was now “hiding behind the police and the Integrity Commission.”
“We have the evidence to show the e-mails were all false,” Moonilal told supporters.
He said it was also the PP Government which had reported the National Energy Corporation/FCB fraud matter and not Rowley, adding it was still being investigated by Interpol.
He said the Government was moving to get the remainder of the $60 million retrieved.
On the People’s National Movement MPs’ absence from the House of Representatives, Moonilal said: “No work, no pay.”
He said the Parliament paid each constituency $50,000 for workers in the constituency office but the MPs were paid to be in Parliament.
Speaking earlier, Anastasia Daly, a constituent of Diego Martin Northeast, said a vote for the PNM would be a vote for punishment but a vote for the PP was a vote for nourishment. She and other community representatives criticised the former PNM government for failing to develop the community, including basic infrastructure.
The crowd was entertained by Valley Harps Seel Orchestra during the three-hour meeting.
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Only HDC’s rental tenants qualify for PM’s $100 plan.
Kalifa Clyne and Rhondor Dowlat (Guardian).
1,408 families set to benefit
A total of 1,408 families are set to benefit from Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s initiative to allow renters in Housing Development Corporation (HDC) apartments for over 30 years to buy them for $100.
The figure was disclosed by HDC’s corporate communications manager Maurisa Findlay in a telephone interview yesterday.
The tenants who meet the criteria will come from 402 buildings in 51 communities across Trinidad, including Beetham Gardens, Laventille, Morvant, Lady Hailes Avenue, Pleasantville, Maloney and Point Lisas.
On Monday during a United National Congress Monday Night Forum in Diego Martin, Persad-Bissessar said citizens who had been renting HDC units for more than 30 years will be allowed to buy them if the People’s Partnership got a second term in office.
She also promised to regularise some 30,000 squatters as she unveiled what she said would be some of the party’s policy plans for the future.
HDC managing director Jearlean John said yesterday the HDC took policy directions from the Government and would follow the directive given by the PM. She clarified, however, that only people renting HDC units would benefit from the initiative.
Findlay further said that whatever conditions were outlined for the initiative, the HDC would ensure tenants eligible to benefit would receive the best treatment and measures to ensure they were included in the process.
“This is something we will get done once we have outlined all the necessary details,” Findlay said.
Asked whether renters owing arrears would need to pay it off before becoming eligible for the initiative, Findlay said that could not be answered at this time as the process needed to be discussed further.
While Findlay did not provide a full list of the communities yesterday, she said the information she had provided came from an ongoing renters survey being conducted by the HDC.
Tenants sceptical
Yesterday, however, renters in Port-of-Spain who fell under the criteria outlined so far said their votes could not be purchased with election promises.
Wayne Alleyne, a resident in an HDC apartment on Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain, for over 40 years said he would not vote based on the promise.
“I wouldn’t vote for nothing. If I get it, I get it. We pay $100 rent now so it doesn’t make a difference to me,” he added.
Told that the $100 payment promised by the Government would be a final payment toward ownership, Alleyne’s position remained the same.
“Look at those buildings, how can you own an apartment? The HDC already doesn’t do much, the apartments are falling apart,” he said.
Alleyne said the HDC, over the years, had not paid any attention to maintenance of the buildings and asked whether they were selling the apartments to give up the responsibility for the minimal upkeep which they had been doing.
Another resident who asked not to be named said the election promise did not matter much to him.
“They can’t buy my vote. Why don’t they talk about catching Dana Seetahal murderer or tell us about LifeSport?”
George said he felt the initiative was just one of many election promises he would ignore.
One woman said she would be glad to own her apartment instead of renting it but added that she would not vote because of the issue.
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HOUSING COLLAPSE
By JULIEN NEAVES (NEWSDAY).
FORMER Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal yesterday said he was concerned about a possible collapse of the housing sector given the “violent slashing” of the Housing Ministry’s budget as he reported that contractors have begun laying off people and that successful applicants in the housing draws were not guaranteed to get their homes.
Speaking with the media yesterday after the meeting of the Standing Finance Committee at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Port-of-Spain, Moonilal reiterated concerned he had expressed at the earlier deliberations — that the annual budget for the accelerated housing programme was about $750 million but that this has been slashed to $160 million in the 2015/2016 budget.
He said this amount cannot finish the Edinburgh Towers in Chaguanas nor the Victoria Keyes housing estate in Diego Martin, “and it certainly cannot start any new work”. Moonilal also noted that the Housing Development Corporation was owing in excess of $150 million to contractors for work done already.
“So that we will have a housing crisis on our hands where contractors will not be paid, new works will not start,” he said, adding that this will have serious implications for construction sector.
He reported that several contractors have already laid off workers including truck drivers, backhoe operators and office staff in one case “so there is a joblessness developing in the construction sector because of this impending slow down of the housing sector”.
Moonilal said with no significant projects by the private sector “we are looking at a doom and gloom scenario” which he added, was compounded by the announcement that there will be no work on the Invader’s Bay site, which was earmarked for major construction projects and would have generated about seven percent more growth in construction, created about 500 temporary jobs and engaged about eight contractors for land development.
“Already truck drivers are becoming PH drivers and the Minister of Housing (yesterday) did not have an answer on that matter,” he said. On the 100 houses per week programme which saw the former People’s Partnership Government giving out houses to applicants prior to the September 7 election, Moonilal said 90 percent of people would have moved in already except, barring repairs.
He said the PNM Government has not given out a single key since September 7 and that no one has even received emergency housing, claiming that some 400 successful applicants were still awaiting houses “and now there is no guarantee that persons who were successful in those draws would be providing with housing”.
Housing Minister Marlene Mc- Donald, in openings remarks at the deliberations of the Standing Finance Commitee, said the demand for housing “has grown to almost unmanageable proportions” and that “this growth in demand is most marked at a time when the country faces numerous economic challenges.” McDonald said Government spending on housing should not be a “reflex action” but a measured approach. She said the ministry will meet its obligations, whether statutory or moral, and will be looking at prudence and value for money and will eliminate wastage and mismanagement. She said the ministry will be prioritising areas of greatest need and build where houses were needed, whether North, South, East or West.
“We shall improve the quality and quantity of housing stock and deliver to those most in need affordable houses,” she added.
At the Finance Committee deliberations, Moonilal, pointing to the slashing of the housing maintenance by half, had asked McDonald if she believed $5 million will be adequate for that item.
The Housing Minister said she has been advised that any shortfall would be made up from HDC rental income of $11 million.
Moonilal then asked the minister if she was aware that HDC was owed more than $100 million in rental income to which McDonald replied that there was an element of delinquency that was a little over 30 percent but the ministry was working “assiduously” to reduce that figure. Moonilal described it as the “scandal of the year”, noting that while in the budget statement a lot is made about housing and building affordable houses, “and you have a violent slashing of the housing budget...
“That cannot finish one housing project in the Ministry of Housing.
This is the end of housing, the collapse of the sector, because that sector is driven by the accelerated housing programme,” he said.
He said that in 2014, $650 million was expended but the slashing of the budget means that in two to three months or less, the housing sector, which contributes to construction, economic activity and employment will have collapsed, by December this year.
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Board orders audit into HDC
By Renuka Singh (Guardian).
Managing director of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Jearlean John is citing “political motivation” as the only reason behind a decision by the new HDC board of directors to send her home yesterday.
John and seven other members of senior management were sent on immediate leave.
The new board, headed by Newman George, met for the first time yesterday and after a presentation into the works by the HDC, the board called for an independent audit of the State-owned organisation.
The T&T Guardian understands that the audit is to be done by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The board also determined then that John and seven other senior level personnel would be sent on administrative leave, pending the completion of the independent audit.
John, in an interview with the T&T Guardian moments after the decision, said she was surprised the board would make such a move, and alleged political motives behind the board’s decision.
“This board obviously came in to take political action. This has to be politically motivated,” John said.
She said her work “crossed party lines” and because of her innate professionalism she was able to work well despite the political divides.
“Everything they asked me for, I have provided with no indication of dissatisfaction with the information received.
“Even what they have not yet asked for that is part of the natural handover, I have provided. I have remained open and transparent so I don’t understand how the need for an independent audit can be a reason for me being sent on administrative leave,” John said.
The T&T Guardian received texts between George and John, which show that George contacted John at 11.36 pm on Tuesday night informing her that he had “two matters” which needed attention and advised her to call him by 5.30 the next morning.
John responded immediately to that text and then called him the next day.
When asked about that exchange, John said she found it “unprofessional” but recognised then what she was dealing with.
That, the T&T Guardian was told, was cemented when George told John, the chief legal officer and the corporate secretary that he “had no heart and no conscience.”
“My expectation is that the audit goes back from the periods 2000-2004, then 2005-2009 and 2010-2015,” John said.
She joined the HDC in 2009, appointed by the then People’s National Movement (PNM) administration to replace Noel Garcia.
Garcia is now the chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) where John sat under the former administration.
John dismisses all allegations of political allegiance to either the PNM or the People’s Partnership and had maintained her work ethic and style of management had kept her at the various State enterprises.
She said she liaised effectively with the new board and her new line minister, Housing Minister Marlene McDonald.
McDonald, in a brief interview yesterday, said she had not yet been “apprised” of the outcome of the board meeting at HDC.
“I was at Cabinet and then at constituency meeting, so I have not been in touch or informed of what went on at the meeting,” McDonald said.
George answered his mobile phone but asked that he be contacted again within 20 minutes but did not respond to several successive calls for comment.
Moonilal alleges political agenda
Former minister of housing Dr Roodal Moonilal has criticised the PNM for the “constructive dismissal” of eight executives from the HDC.
“The PNM Government seeks to mask their incompetence and inability to deliver homes to the needy by focusing on abusing managers. The PNM cannot build one house but will send home senior staff at HDC one week before Christmas,” he said.
Moonilal kept John as HDC managing director as she was appointed by the former PNM government.
“This is mass misadventure to have eight high level managers at the HDC constructively dismissed. It speaks volumes in terms of victimisation and persecution of hard working public officers who have sacrificed family and careers to serve the underprivileged and the needy,” he said.
Moonilal described the dismissals as a “December fishing expedition or witch-hunt.”
“I feel sorry for the thousands of citizens who would be denied a home for Christmas because of the malice of the PNM,” he added.
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After HDC board’s decision to send her on leave...
Jearlean starts legal action
T&T Guardian Reports.
Housing Development Corporation (HDC) managing director Jearlean John yesterday dramatically raised the stakes in her public fight with her new board against its decision to send her on administrative leave by issuing it with a legal letter warning of court action if it does not reverse its decision.
John, through attorney Avery Sinanan, sent the 14 page “pre-action protocol” letter to board chairman Newman George just after 4 pm yesterday.
It calls on the board to immediately rescind the decision and to declare it null and void. The company has 48 hours to respond. A lawsuit is a possibility.
She is challenging the board to provide the date and time when the decision was taken to commission an audit and the reasons for it.
She is also seeking clarification on the manner in which that decision was made by the board and the documented recording of that decision.
John is also asking for George to clarify the date and time the decision was taken to send her on administrative leave and the basis for requesting all her electronic equipment.
The letter also states that there had been no prior decision by the board of directors to conduct an audit but that accounting staff from international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers were already on the compound by 3 pm on that same day.
John is also seeking financial compensation, saying the manner in which she was sent on leave was in violation of her contract with HDC.
“The contract of employment, dated December 4, 2013, that exists between the claimant and the defendant does not provide the corporation with the power to direct the claimant to proceed on administrative leave and no implication the board arises in favour of in that regard,” John's letter states.
Her legal advice is that asking her to proceed on administrative leave, in the absence of any “properly recorded decision of the board, betrays conduct which is arbitrary, oppressive and fatally flawed.”
John is also disputing the time of the start of the pivotal meeting at which the decision was taken.
She contends that despite a 10 am start time, the board members appeared to be having a “private discussion” and the official board meeting did not begin until 11.01, when the suspended staff were handed letters advising them of the same.
John and the seven other senior managers were sent on administrative leave last Thursday. Since then there has been much speculation about the reasons behind the action, with John stating it must be politically motivated.
George released a short statement on Monday, saying the audit was necessary to facilitate the work of the board.
He denied that the actions taken against John were in any way “punitive.”
In a radio interview yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley dismissed John’s call for the audit to include the years before she took office in 2009.
He instead praised George, saying he was “lucky” that a man of his knowledge decided to take up the chairmanship at HDC.
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HDC probe into political kickbacks
http://m.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-01-23/hdc-probe-political-kickbacks
The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) is currently investigating whether millions of taxpayers’ dollars were used to pay off political debts under the former administration.
The Sunday Guardian received a list of some 24 names which include media personnel and a number of United National Congress (UNC) activists now before the HDC board under suspicion of receiving state houses outside the normal qualification process. The list contains the names of people allocated state houses over the past five years, some which they claim have no documentation, several on a rent to own, and even one upscale penthouse fully paid off within the past three years.
The Sunday Guardian has learned that the gated Fidelis Heights housing compound has been a popular allocation spot and now houses as many as 17 people with close links to the former administration. These were allocated homes within the last five years. Insiders close to the HDC board have revealed that the investigations seem to be centered on the role of suspended managing director Jearlean John.
In December, John and seven other high-level executives were suspended by the newly installed HDC board led by Newman George. The board suspended the eight employees pending the outcome of an independent audit into the HDC’s operations under John’s watch. That audit is expected to conclude in February.
John had contended then that the suspension was nothing more than a political conspiracy designed to remove her from the HDC because even though she was initially hired by the former People’s National Movement (PNM) in 2009, one year later when the Government changed, the incoming United National Congress (UNC) kept her in charge of the HDC.
The Sunday Guardian was informed that the internal audit is going back only five years.
The Sunday Guardian has learned that when John took over at the HDC back in 2009, she implemented a system that actually removed her and her office from the process of selection and allocation.
Under John’s watch, the selection and allocation could only be authorised by the Minister of Housing.
Under the former administration, former minister of housing Dr Roodal Moonilal ceded that responsibility and allowed his chairman, Rabindra Moonan, to authorise the allocation of houses.
The Sunday Guardian was informed that the HDC board is now questioning whether John was involved in the housing handouts or complicit in the People’s Partnership’s move to give houses to political loyalists.
Those loyalists also held prime positions under the former administration, including seats on state boards and hefty URP and Cepep contracts and now boast houses in Edinburgh 500 development.
But one HDC insider who has remained at the organisation despite the change in governments has said that the HDC was often used to repay political support over the years.
That HDC insider has questioned the most recent HDC handover ceremony in which two key PNM activists were allocated houses “in record time.”
“In less than a month, people sign up and get houses,” she said.
The insider named one senior executive in the PNM’s women’s league and one man who participated in the PNM internal elections and now serves as a member of the PNM political team.
Minister can allocate 40 per cent of state houses
Former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal has said that a sitting minister of housing can only make “limited recommendations” for the allocation of houses. But according to HDC policy, that minister can allocate up to 40 per cent of the available state houses; the remaining 60 per cent is determined by the Ministry of Housing and that compiled list is then sent to the HDC for allocation. The selection process is strictly a ministerial right.
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EARTH SHAKE
By Andre Bagoo (Newsday).
THE LAND on which the Housing Development Corporation (HDC)’s million-dollar Morvant housing project is built is still moving, the Inquiry into the project heard yesterday, as the possibility that the entire project may have to be condemned emerged at the proceedings.
The inquiry, led by retired Justice of Appeal Mustapha Ibrahim, visited the site of the development, located at Lady Young Road.
The project includes two towers which are currently unoccupied, surrounded by several blocks which house 60 apartment units and are occupied. Gordon Redon, the HDC’s senior manager for project development and oversight, said tests which continue to be conducted at the site show movement continues to date at the project which has seen many different phases since 2003.
“We are still monitoring it,” Redon said. “There is still movement taking place.” Andrea Abel, a geophysical engineer and managing director of Trintoplan Consultants Limited also said the site remained in flux. Derek Gay, EISL Managing Director, said the movement could be stopped, but possibly at a prohibitive cost, depending on design.
However, while HDC officials and other experts have detected movement at Block H and Block I, residents in Blocks A and B have also made complaints which raise the possibility that the extent of the problem may be wider. “I am hearing that residents have been complaining,” said inquiry counsel Pamela Elder SC after some HDC officials reported some persons have expressed concerns. “So the whole site might have to be condemned,” said commissioner Dr Myron Chin. “We should go and have a look.” In relation to the two unoccupied towers at the site, large cracks were visible, particularly in a wall which marked a driveway into the site. There were ghostly scenes as partial demolition had left the interiors of rooms, including tiled showers and staircases, exposed.
Loose galvanise roofing blew in the wind. Ash from rubbish heaps at the site sent white dust in the air as the inquiry moved among the rubble. Curious residents from neighboring blocks looked on at the proceedings, including one woman holding her baby.
“Can you build on this site?” Gay said. “Yes. But at what cost?” He said if Block I were to be occupied, residents would find their rooms leaning to the south.
“I suspect the floors in there are not level,” Gay said. “Therefore you will find people will be running downhill when they are getting into bed. This is all my opinion on the basis of visual observation.” Lennox Smith, a former UNC Alliance candidate for Laventille East/Morvant, said slippage and overspill from the site contributed to flooding and, in his view, at least one drowning death. He could give no further details.
One resident of the occupied blocks at the housing development, David Haynes, 70, told Newsday that since 2008, officials were warned that the land on which the two unoccupied blocks were built was not stable.
“This neighbourhood is the worst neighbourhood,” he said.
“They have no unity. When they were building this place, they were advised that the foundation is a sinking foundation.” While the inquiry has examined structural issues, Haynes complained that his requests for repairs of a leaking pipe in the block in which his apartment is located have not been acted upon by the HDC, though officials visited in 2014.
The inquiry has heard of fluctuations in contract arrangements for the Las Alturas project which was originally meant to cost $30 million but may have cost almost $100 million, with contracts issued to a value of $157 million.
The inquiry has queried the quantum of dispersals to contractors.
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Cops detain HDC official, boyfriend on allegations of taking $$ for houses.
By Anna Ramdass (Express).
POLICE swooped down on the home of a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) official at 3 a.m. yesterday and detained a woman and her boyfriend for questioning in relation to allegations of accepting money from people for HDC houses.
The police action yesterday follows an investigation stemming from an official complaint by HDC managing director Jearlean John since 2014.
The Express understands that police went to the HDC official’s Curepe home yesterday and detained the woman and her boyfriend.
She was taken to the Fraud Squad offices in Port of Spain for questioning.
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Police launch probe against Marlene.
By Kalifa Clyne (Guardian).
The T&T Police Service has initiated a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud and misconduct levelled against Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald.
McDonald, the former minister of housing and urban development, was removed as a Cabinet minister on Thursday.
She was replaced by former public administration minister and San Fernando East MP Randall Mitchell.
In an interview yesterday, following the second of three panel discussions at a symposium on the state of the economy, acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams said an investigation had begun.
The symposium was held at the Learning Resource Centre of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus. Asked to provide the areas to be looked at during the investigation, Williams did not answer. He also did not say who had been charged with overseeing the investigation. Williams said his “open day for media” was Wednesdays and so he would not provide further information until then.
Early this month, Fixin T&T spokesman and anti-corruption activist Kirk Waithe wrote to Williams requesting that a criminal investigation be launched into the setting up and operations of the Calabar Foundation. The Calabar Foundation was run by Carew and received payments from the Ministry of Community Development in 2010. The cheques were paid to the foundation before it registered a name.
The story about the Calabar Foundation first broke in the Sunday Guardian in December 2014, written by investigative reporter Renuka Singh. Waithe requested that the police investigate to determine whether any fraud or misrepresentation was perpetrated and whether there was any misbehaviour in public office by McDonald.
Waithe also revealed that McDonald had breached parliamentary rules and hired relatives to work in her constituency office.
In a telephone interview yesterday, attorney Lyndon Leu said in addition to breaches to the Integrity in Public Life Act, police investigators could also investigate for possible fraud due to the monies allegedly approved by McDonald for payment to the Calabar Foundation.
“It all depends on where the funds ended up. Where the funds end up will determine if it is a criminal charge or not. The police have to investigate where it ended up,” Leu said.
“They may have issues for her in terms of approving any funds, and she may or may not be culpable as a secondary party.” Leu said even if the foundation wasn’t incorporated, if the funds were used for the purpose for which the foundation was founded police may not be able to lay charges.
“If it ended up in his (Carew’s) personal account and then it disappeared it may be fraud.” Late last year, Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge forwarded a dossier on alleged breaches of the Integrity in Public Life Act to both the Integrity Commission and the acting Commissioner of Police. The breaches stemmed from the allocation of a Fidelis Heights house to McDonald’s romantic partner Michael Carew in 2008.
In January, HDC allocations manager Lauren Legall forwarded a complaint to the Commissioner of Police regarding what she called “unusual enquiries” from McDonald. Legall claimed that sometime in November, McDonald made enquiries as to the status of the deed for Mr Michael Carew. She claimed McDonald had informed her that Carew had paid in full for a unit at the Fidelis Heights Housing Development since 2008 and had not received the deed for the property.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, during a post-Cabinet press conference in Tobago, had initially stated that he would not fire McDonald McDonald did not answer calls to her mobile phone or respond to a text message from this reporter yesterday.
Political analyst
In an interview yesterday political analyst Dr Winford James said McDonald’s quality of service as an MP for her constituency must be weighed when determining if it was appropriate for her to resign.
The calls for McDonald’s resignation came from members of the Opposition as well as former Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing, following the revelation of McDonald’s hiring practices.
“The question arises of whether she is suited to be an MP if she has such hiring practices. I can see people saying she is not fair-minded. That is how it can be perceived,” James said. He added that if people were to call on her to resign it must be tempered by the rest of her work. “Is she a suitable representative of her constituency by and large except for this one mistake? It appears that overall she was good, her constituents could point at the number of good things she has done. If the evidence points to a good quality of representation, it [raises the] question whether on the basis of one blemish she should resign.
“It must be weighed against what people are saying is a good record of service to her constituency.” He said in McDonald’s case there was a clear violation of a rule against employing relatives. He said the perception was that you “could not trust her in a public office as high as the one she was fired from.”
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The Calabar Foundation and its members:
By Ria Taitt (Express).
MARLENE KNEW IT ALL
All the directors of the Calabar Foundation were known to former minister of housing Marlene McDonald.
The police are investigating the alleged involvement of McDonald in the Calabar Foundation, which received funding of over $575,000 from the Community Development Ministry under McDonald.
The director and secretary, Michael Carew, is McDonald’s romantic partner, and Lennox, another director, is his brother.
The third director, Victor McEachrane, was a former colleague of McDonald.
McEachrane was president of the Diego Martin Credit Union while McDonald was general manager of that organisation.
McEachrane was also placed on the committee which managed the controversial Scholarship Fund. His appointment to the committee was announced in the Parliament by McDonald on December 4, 2009.
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Payments made: Two of the Ministry of Community Development cheques made out to the Calabar Foundation director Victor McEachrane’s rental and transport firm while Marlene McDonald was the minister.
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Payments made: Two of the Ministry of Community Development cheques made out to the Calabar Foundation director Victor McEachrane’s rental and transport firm while Marlene McDonald was the minister.
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Jearlean John fired over tone of voice
T&T Newsday Reports.
JEARLEAN JOHN has been removed as managing director of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). This was revealed yesterday in a brief statement from the Corporate Communications Unit of the HDC.
The statement said, “In December 2015, the Board of Directors of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), took a decision to commission an audit into the operations of the HDC.
“Ms Jearlean John, Managing Director, was sent on administrative leave on December 17, 2015.
The Board of Directors requested a meeting with Ms John on Monday 21 March, 2016. Subsequent to that meeting, the Board of Directors terminated Ms John’s employment as the Managing Director of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).” When Newsday contacted John yesterday, she explained that on Friday last, she was contacted by the HDC’s acting corporate secretary and told to attend a meeting on Monday. John asked that the invitation be put in writing indicating the time, date and venue and the agenda of the meeting. A written invitation was sent but no agenda was attached. John said that at the meeting on Monday, she was asked about the rental of a Mercedes Benz and was presented with an invoice.
“It’s a car, I don’t know anything about it, I have never used it,” she said. The meeting, she said, lasted no more than ten minutes. Yesterday, John received a letter indicating that her services were terminated.
One part of the letter stated, “your reaction, demeanour, tone and manner of communicating with the Board of Directors could only be described as insubordinate and disrespectful,” John said as she read from the dismissal letter.
“The Board doesn’t like my tone,” she added. Asked what was next for her, she said, “I can work again, when you have this kind of wildness going on in your country, you can set up a stall and start to sell bake and shark. The bake and shark won’t complain about your tone,” John said.
Asked if she would be pursuing legal action, she said, “one step at a time, I am not wilding anybody.” John and several top managers were placed on three months administrative leave last December as an audit of the HDC was ordered.
Newly appointed Housing Minister Randall Mitchell yesterday told Newsday he was unaware of John’s firing noting that yesterday was his first day in office and added that, if she was indeed fired, that decision would have been made at the Board level.
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MEDIA RELEASE
HDC Distributes Keys to Developments in the South West
http://www.housing.gov.tt/pdf/Media%20Release%20re%20HDC%20Key%20Distribution.pdf
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(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/12963701_628723100609862_8608084922799886718_n.jpg?oh=eb9c750ae1bc7f430b00ad8670960a76&oe=57B4846B)(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/12963449_628723043943201_3276901925475544766_n.jpg?oh=71f90624f9733334a64e125ede100080&oe=5784C8C9)
Journalists obtain HDC houses under the UNC in the past five years.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/921547324564197/permalink/1137530802965847/
The Sunday Express has begun, starting today, an investigative series into the distribution policy of the HDC, the role of politics and politicians in the handing out of keys of State-subsidised homes and the contractors selected to construct homes, all in the context of whether the HDC met its mandate of affordable housing for low and middle income families..
In the past five years, two former Government Ministers and the former Chairman of the State’s billion-dollar HDC, personally recommended that over 70 media workers or their relatives be allocated houses.
The recommendations were made by former Housing Minister Roodal, former National Security Minister Jack Warner and former HDC Chairman Rabindra Moonan.
The information comes from documents obtained by the Sunday Guardian which spans several years of what the HDC termed ‘key distribution.’
The list of these media workers includes:
• Express Reporter Anna Ramdass
• Express Reporter Sue-All Wayow
• Express Photographer Jermaine Cruikshank
• TV6 Reporter Nisha John-Mohammed
• TV6 Reporter Nathalie Chrysostom
• Newsday Reporter Jada Loutoo
• Newsday Reporter Keino Swamber
• Guardian Reporter Radhica Sookraj
• Guardian Reporter Camille Clarke
• CNC3’s Chester Sambrano
• CNC3’s Jesse Ramdeo
• CNC3 Camerman Neil Romain
• CNMG’s Cherrylene Lewis
• CNMG’s fmr News Producer Larry Lumsden
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(http://www.trinidadexpress.com/storyimage/TT/20160416/LOCAL/160419666/AR/0/AR-160419666.jpg&MaxW=730&imageversion=Article)
Politicians’ roles in HDC houses*
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20160416/news/politicians8217-roles-in-hdc-houses
A house for Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s nephew, one for Clifton DeCoteau’s son and another for Devant Maharaj’s wife and sister.
They were some of the beneficiaries of houses over the past seven years gleaned from documents obtained by the Sunday Express of what the HDC termed “key distribution”.
The documents have revealed a significant number of family and friends of the former People’s Partnership government, advisers to former ministers, corporate communications specialists as well as staff of the Parliament being allocated State-subsidised houses.
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Jearlean wants $17 million
T&T Newsday Reports.FORMER Housing Development Corporation (HDC) managing director Jearlean John has made good on her promise, instituting via her lawyers, a lawsuit against her former employer and claiming damages in the sum of $17 million for wrongful dismissal and breach of contract.
The suit was filed in the High Court by attorney Gerald Ramdeen in which John is claiming damages for a decision by the HDC to terminate her contract of employment on March 22. Two days later, she issued a pre-action protocol letter to the Board and when no response was forthcoming, she decided to proceed with her lawsuit.
The claim notes that John has had a ‘distinguished career’ in the corporate, local/international and public and private sectors. She also noted that she served several different prime ministers in varying capacities with distinction and without complaint. Her lawsuit states that during her career she held different public posts including Minister of Transport; Minister of Tobago Affairs; Minister of Tourism; Managing Director (MD) of the HDC; Chairman of Udecott; MD of VMCOTT; CEO of the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC); board member of TTEC; Vice-chair of YTEPP.
In the private sector, she has held positions as: CEO of Pizza Boys Groups of Companies; was the main architect behind the conceptualisation, establishment and development of the Rituals Coffee House brand; Manager of New Business Development at UWI’s Institute of Business.
In its termination letter to her, the HDC alleged that during a meeting of March 21, with the Board of Directors under Chairman Newman George, John “behaved in a manner that was deemed inappropriate and unbecoming of a managing director, in particular, of a managing director interacting with the Members of the Board of Directors of the HDC.” John was further informed in her termination letter that her reaction, demeanour, tone and manner of communicating with the Board of Directors could only be described as insubordinate and disrespectful.
The letter went on to state, “these actions on your part coupled with inter alia your behaviour since being sent on leave has resulted in the Board of Directors completely losing all trust and confidence in your ability to perform your duties in the best interest of HDC, as the Managing Director of the Organisation.” In her claim John states she began her employment with the HDC in 2009, for an initial period of three years. At the end of her initial contract, said contract was renewed for a further period of three years. John’s performance during the period 2009 - 2012, the claim states, was rated ‘exceptional’ in a performance review by the Chairman of the Board and this resulted in the HDC offering her a further three-year contract, with considerably enhanced benefits due to her performance as managing director.
However this was all cut short by her sudden and summary dismissal by the HDC Board in March. She claimed the conduct of the HDC in relation to her and the manner in which she was dismissed, were harsh, reprehensible and outrageous.
She noted in her claim that the actions of the HDC were designed to embarrass and humiliate her in the eyes of the public and said actions, were deliberate and carried out with intent to damage her reputation.
Efforts to reach chairman Newman George yesterday evening for a comment proved futile. John is claiming that as a result of her termination she is entitled to fixed sums based on earnings calculated for 8.5 months, which she had remaining in the current contract which was terminated on March 22.
What Jearlean Wants Salary - $62,000 x 8.5 mths: $527,000
Housing Allowance: $12,000 x 8.5: $102,000
Travel Allowance: $15,000 x 8.5: $127,500
Cell phone allowance: $2,000 x 8.5: $17,000
Land line allowance: $2,000 x 8.5: $17,000
Entertainment allowance: $5,000 x 8.5: $42,500
Performance Bonus: $62,000 x 6: $588,000
Total: $1,421,000 20% gratuity on value of the contract: $705,600 24 months salary: $2,352,000 Loss of future employment opportunity:
$7,500,000 Damage to reputation:
$5,000,000 Exemplary damages:
$500,000 Total damages recoverable: $17,478,6
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Why stop at 17 million round it off to 20 million
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I WANT $.5M, HOUSE, LAND
By AZARD ALI (NEWSDAY)
A JUDGE presiding over a lawsuit filed against the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), heard yesterday, that a former HDC project manager demanded a house for his daughter, land and $.5M from the corporation, in return for assistance in legal matters.
Justice Frank Seepersad heard that Christopher Booker admitted to writing a letter dated January 11, in which he requested from the HDC, a house for his daughter in Curepe or Mt Hope; a parcel of land to build his own home and do agriculture and $500,000.
The letter was produced in the San Fernando High Court by attorneys defending the HDC against a lawsuit filed by Lionel Rackal who is seeking damages for the death of his wife Denise, 46, who was mauled by two pitbulls while at their HDC home in Edinburgh Gardens, Chaguanas.
Rackal claims the HDC had an obligation to ensure such dangerous dogs are not kept by tenants at its properties.
Rackal as well as tenants of the HDC living at Edinburgh Gardens, have already testified that complaints about the pitbulls were made to the corporation but nothing was done despite a HDC/tenant agreement that bars the keeping of dangerous dogs on HDC compounds. Booker gave evidence on February 23, on Rackal’s behalf, stating he received complaints about the pitbulls and wrote to the HDC complaining that the dogs had even attacked him. Attorney Prem Persad Maharaj led evidence from Booker. In 2011, Booker was dismissed by the HDC.
The HDC is defending itself saying it cannot be held liable as it was not notified and thus was unaware of dogs roaming its Edinburgh Gardens development.
The HDC denied Booker’s contention that complaints were made about the dogs. Following Booker’s evidence in February, attorney Shakar Bidasie who is representing the HDC, wrote to the court requesting the HDC be allowed to lead fresh evidence, based on a letter which had surfaced.
The attorney said Booker wrote a letter in January (before giving evidence) that he would testify instead to assist the HDC, in certain legal matters, but under certain conditions. Justice Seepersad granted Bidasie leave, but Rackal’s attorney Maharaj petitioned the Court of Appeal which dismissed his application and upheld Justice Seepersad’s ruling that Booker be cross-examined by Bidasie, on the letter.
Yesterday, Booker was called to the witness stand and was presented with the letter which was dated January 11, 2017. During cross examination, Booker admitted writing the letter but denied sending it to the HDC, saying he sent the letter to the law firm JD Sellier and Company.
The letter was tendered into evidence and Booker was asked to read it to the court. The letter (which is unedited) stated: “To whom it may concern.
Dear Sir/Madam, My name is Christopher Booker who was the project manager for the Housing Development Corporation. However, I was sent home in 2011 and now being asked to facilitate the said corporation in a litigation matter including the first and second parties. Be it known that I am not obligated to so do, however, I will only do so to assist as the main witness and testify to ensure success for the HDC in this matter, provided the conditions are agreed to: Allocation of a single unit for my daughter on waiting list for years - Curepe or Mt Hope preferably; Parcel of land to build my own house and agriculture; the sum of $500,000. Please be guided accordingly as other matters will nead my intervention in the not to distant future.” The letter was signed by Booker.
Bidasie put to Booker that he gave evidence in support of Rackal’s case against the HDC, on February 23, but wrote and sent his letter to the HDC on January 17, requesting house, land and money as a condition to support the HDC’s case. Booker replied, “I did not send this letter to the HDC, I sent it to JD Sellier.” Under further questioning, Booker said he filed his witness statement to give evidence on January 19, and two days before, prepared the statement. Bidasie put to Booker that had his request been granted (by the HDC) for house, land and money, he knew he had the freedom to withdraw his statement in support of Rackal’s claim. Booker said he was not aware of this.
Justice Seepersad ordered the claimant’s attorney to file submissions on or before 4 pm on May 3. Bidasie is to file submissions in reply, by May 19 and he (Justice Seepersad) will then deliver his ruling on June 14.
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Dillon: 6,000 new low-cost homes by 2020
By Peter Christopher (Guardian).
Minister of Housing Edmund Dillon says construction will begin this year on 439 low and middle-income housing units in Port-of-Spain and San Fernando.
He made the promise following the signing of a US$72 million contract with the China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Company Limited (CGGC) at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
“The contract being signed today is for initial construction of 204 two and three-bedroom apartment units at South Quay, Port-of-Spain and 235 at Lady Hailes Avenue in San Fernando, with the state providing the lands and the CGGC providing finance and technical capabilities,” Dillon said during the signing.
The homes are a part of the Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) affordable homes project and Dillon said the signing paved the way for more than 5,000 low-cost homes to be built in the two cities by the end of the next year.
“After a year of negotiation, the Housing Development Corporation and the China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Company Limited, commonly referred to as CGGC, have arrived at the mutually agreed position for the design, build and financing of 5,000 new houses in Port-of-Spain South and San Fernando West and that’s just phase one. Government’s objective is to complete at least 6,000 housing units by fiscal 2020,” Dillon said.
The first phase of the project, which will span two years and local content, including materials and labour, are expected to be used, he said.
Yesterday’s signing ceremony was attended by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, the MP for San Fernando West and Public Administration Minister Marlene McDonald, the Port-of-Spain South MP, as well as Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dennis Moses and Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon.
RELATED NEWS
Dillon: 6,000 houses by fiscal 2020
By Julien Neaves (Newsday).
Govt signs US $71m contract with Chinese company
HOUSING Minister Edmund Dillon has announced government plans to build 6,000 houses by fiscal 2020 following the signing of a US $71 million contract with a Chinese company.
He was speaking at the signing ceremony between the Housing Development Corporation and the China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Company (CGGC) for Phase 1–Affordable Housing Project 5000 Units at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain.
“This morning I consider to be a very defining moment in the housing construction industry in T&T,” Dillon said.
He said Government was satisfying a basic need by providing affordable housing and Project 5000 seeks to reduce the housing deficit. He said there are an estimated 180,000 citizens on a database waiting for affordable houses.
“Nowhere in any part of the world can any government satisfy that kind of demand. And therefore there must be alternative measures to seek to satisfy our citizens with respect to housing.”
The initial sites under the project are for 204 units at South Quay, Port of Spain and 235 units at Lady Hailes Avenue, San Fernando, while Phase 2 of the project will be in two other areas. Dillon said the housing sites will include recreational areas, as the aim was to create and shape wholesome communities.
Other contracts will be signed under this blanket agreement once lands identified for other units has undergone planning and development work stages.
“The Government’s objective is to complete as least 6,000 housing units by fiscal 2020. A tall order, ladies and gentlemen, but we feel it is achievable when we put all efforts by this government to ensure we deliver.”
Dillon said the Government has several housing initiatives, including other public/private partnerships, of which 1,600 units are planned for the next two years, and the housing bonds announced during the mid-year budget review in Parliament.
CGGC general manager Lui Huailiang said the model of the housing project has been innovative and the company is capable of delivering the project in a timely manner.
“In the meantime we will go all out.”
Huailiang said behind every success there is courage and passion.
“CGGC is ready and we are hoping for your continued support.”
He said the state-owned company was founded 49 years ago with global operations and its business covers energy, power, highways, railways, bridges, airports, ports and waterways. The company is also a leading manufacturer of cement.
Among those present yesterday were San Fernando West MP Faris Al-Rawi and Port of Spain South MP Marlene McDonald. Al-Rawi said the previous administration had no desire to develop San Fernando and McDonald said the project is part of a bid to develop Port of Spain.
(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/3857440.jpg)
Executive vice president of CGGC Energy China Zhou Xing (Larry), centre, and HDC chairman Newman George shake hands after signing documents for a housing construction project at the HYATT Regency, Port-of-Spain yesterday. Looking on are, from left, CGGC president Liu Huailiang, HDC managing director Brent Lyons, Minister of Trade Paula Gopee-Scoon, back from left, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, China’s ambassador to T&T Song Yumin, Minister of Housing Edmund Dillon, Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration Marlene McDonald and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dennis Moses.
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Moonilal on South Quay housing:
By Anna-LIsa Paul (Guardian).
It's an election gimmick that will never materialise
An election gimmick that will never materialise. This was how former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal described Government’s announcement that they intended to construct 204 apartments at South Quay, Port-of-Spain, as part of its continuing effort to address the urgent demand for public housing.
On Friday, Housing Minister Edmund Dillion signed the US $71 million contract with China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Company Limited (CGGC) for the design, build and financing of four high-rise buildings containing 133 three-bedroom and 71 two-bedroom apartments at POS; and five high-rise buildings containing 120 three-bedroom and 115 two-bedroom apartments at Lady Hailes Avenue, San Fernando.
Construction is expected to begin shortly, with phase one set to span two years.
It is hoped that by the end of 2020, at least 5,000 low-cost homes would have been constructed via this project.
Claiming such promises were “calculated” and “political in nature”, Moonilal said, “These announcements and fancy pictures are being taken from websites and they are transposing it. This is really an election gimmick to show the people that they will build something in the future, but there is absolutely nothing in place for any type of mega-development that they are speaking about.”
Expressing concern that state projects were being done without proper land acquisition procedures being followed, Moonilal pointed to continuing developments such as the Kay Donna Overpass and the Toco Highway as examples of where the authorities had failed to follow proper protocols.
He reiterated, “They are just using pictures because they have no achievements to show.”
Moonilal, referring to the People’s Partnership’s term in office, said, “Whereas we could have shown schools, fire-stations, police stations, hospitals…they are just going on the Internet and find some buildings to put up and decide, this will be POS and San Fernando.
“There is absolutely no planning, no projection, no vision, no source of financing.”
Moonilal said when the PP administration assumed office in 2010, they continued with previous plans from the Patrick Manning led-administration which involved the re-development of East POS and the port development at Beetham.
“These are projects that were in the pipeline for many years and we were continuing in that line,” he said.
Moonilal accused the People’s National Movement (PNM) of moving away from this model, preferring city-scape type buildings.
“I want to assure the people that none of this will happen. It certainly cannot happen in 12 months. It is just trying to fool the people in an election year.”
Concerned that Chinese contractors were being engaged for this particular kind of project, Moonilal said, “T&T has an abundance and surplus of home construction experts and contractors who produce high-quality work all over the Caribbean. There are several of them and it is very disturbing that the PNM Government would identify a construction company that has been in some trouble with the World Bank Group.”
Dismissing the need to engage foreign contractors to construct local housing units, Moonilal said, “We have the equipment, we have the labour force, we have the technical capacity to do the work. You should engage foreign contractors in projects where you may not have the domestic capacity such as in port building and hospital construction, certainly not in housing.”
“This is a retrograde and backward step that will further push out local businesses, local labour and local capital formation so this is an extremely backward approach by the Government to engage Chinese contractors for home construction.”
He claimed local firms would not benefit as the Chinese normally bring in their own equipment and labour, with precious little left for the local market.
In August 2013, Independent Liberal Party leader Jack Warner presented a package of goodies to residents in East POS which included food, land, government contracts, jobs in the protective services, and houses as part of his party’s promise to improve their lives.
The World Bank Group and CGGC
On May 29, 2015, The World Bank Group announced the debarment of Gezhouba No 1 Engineering Co Ltd, the Gezhouba No 5 Engineering Co Ltd, and the Gezhouba No 6 Engineering Co Ltd and their affiliates for a period of 18 months.
In addition, China Gezhouba Three Gorges Engineering Co Ltd and its affiliates were also debarred for a period of six months.
China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd also received a Letter of Reprimand which was valid for six months during which the group remained eligible to participate in World Bank-financed activities.
The sanctions were part of a Negotiated Resolution Agreement between the World Bank and China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd, and its four subsidiaries; namely: Gezhouba No 1 Engineering Co Ltd, Gezhouba No 5 Engineering Co Ltd, Gezhouba No 6 Engineering Co Ltd, and China Gezhouba Three Gorges Engineering Co Ltd.
The settlement follows the acknowledgment of misconduct by these entities in three bank-funded projects in the Peoples Republic of China in relation to water conservation, earthquake recovery, and flood management.
The agreement signed between the World Bank and China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd took note of the extent of cooperation that the group and its subsidiaries' demonstrated and the extent of proactivity and remedial action taken by the companies to ensure that this misconduct does not recur.
Under the terms of the Agreement, Gezhouba No 1 Engineering Company Limited, Gezhouba No 5 Engineering Company Limited and Gezhouba No. 6 Engineering Company Limited committed to cooperating with the World Bank Integrity team and were also required to adopt a Corporate Compliance Program consistent with the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines.
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https://newsday.co.tt/2019/09/08/hdc-china-contract-done-legally/
I get mix up in this read
5439 units @ $490 Million =) ~ 90 K/unit... so what did I read wrong?
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Over 100 families get keys to HDC homes today.
By Carsia Lee (Guardian).
“Let's deliver a record number of houses in 2020…”
Words of newly appointed Chairman of the Housing Development Corporation, Noel Garcia, at a housing distribution ceremony this morning.
According to Garcia, the HDC plans to deliver approximately 2,000 homes this year.
"I'm happy to be back at the HDC," Garcia said.
Garcia was appointed Chairman of the HDC on Friday 10th January 2020, replacing Newman George. This is his second stint at the Corporation.
Today at the Trestrail Lands Housing Development, the keys for 123 homes would be distributed to families.
Several members of the protective services are among those families.
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.2649955.9a0387e651?size=1024)
The keys for 123 homes would be distributed to families today, at the Trestrail Lands Housing Development.
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Jearlean appeals $17m dismissal from HDC
By Derek Achong (Guardian).
Former Housing Development Corporation (HDC) managing director Jearlean John has appealed the dismissal of her $17 million unfair dismissal lawsuit against her former employer.
In her notice of appeal, which was filed late last week and obtained by Guardian Media, John’s lawyers raised seven grounds on which they believe High Court Judge Kevin Ramcharan made errors in finding that the board of the State-agency was entitled to dismiss her.
They are contending that in his judgment in early August, Ramcharan failed to properly assess the evidence presented at trial and did not provide sufficient reasons for his findings.
A date for the hearing of the appeal is yet to be set by the Appeal Court’s Registry.
According to the evidence, presented in the case, John and seven senior HDC employees were placed on administrative leave after a forensic audit was initiated by the board shortly after it was appointed in December 2015. While the audit was still ongoing, HDC Chairman Newman George and his fellow board members invited John to a meeting.
In their defence, the board members claimed that during the meeting on March 21, 2016, John was disrespectful to them and dismissed their concerns over the lease of two luxury vehicles. She was terminated the following day for her “reaction, demeanour, tone and manner of communicating with the board of directors”.
In her testimony, John denied that she was hostile towards the board members and claimed that she was ambushed in the meeting as her repeated attempts to obtain an agenda failed.
In his judgment summary, Ramcharan noted that while there were no minutes of the controversial meeting, George gave a more accurate account of what transpired.
While Ramcharan stated that her conduct was unfortunate and unjustifiable, he accepted that she would have been justified in feeling ambushed and blindsided and ruled that her conduct at the meeting was insufficient to warrant her dismissal.
However, he stated that her behaviour coupled with her previous conduct would have been considered by the board in making its decision.
“Everything must be taken in its proper context, and the reaction of the defendant to claimant’s conduct at the meeting would necessarily by influenced by her prior conduct,” Ramcharan said.
Although he said that he did not consider the audit results, he noted that the alleged infractions allegedly attributed to John would be insufficient to dismiss her.
Ramcharan said that even if she was wrongly dismissed she would not have been entitled to pursue the lawsuit in the form she did as her contract contained a clause allowing for termination, provided that there was three months’ notice.
Through her lawsuit, John was seeking $7.5 million in compensation for her “loss of future employment opportunities”, $5 million for damage to her reputation and $1.42 million for the eight and a half months, which she had left on her contract when she was terminated.
At the time, John’s monthly pay packet consisted of a $62,000 salary and $36,000 in allowances for travel, housing, communications, and entertainment.
John was also claiming that she is entitled to an additional 24 months salary as such a provision became a settled practice of the HDC, with respect to departing managing directors, since the tenure of former managing director Noel Garcia.
John contested the La Horquetta/Talparo constituency in the August 10 general election for the United National Congress (UNC) but lost to People’s National Movement (PNM) candidate Foster Cummings.
She has since been appointed an Opposition Senator.
John was represented by Gerald Ramdeen, Umesh Maharaj and Dayadai Harripaul. Russell Martineau, SC, Anthony Bullock and Marcelle Ferdinand represented the HDC.
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HDC applicants lose $48,000 to con artists.
By Shaliza Hassanali (Guardian).
Online fraudsters have managed to fleece desperate Housing Development Corporation (HDC) applicants of $48,000 in the last month.
This is the latest development in a public housing scam the HDC recently unearthed.
Yesterday, the HDC reminded citizens that all transactions/payments related to the allocation of housing units are conducted at its offices and they will never sanction payments or transfers to personal accounts.
The warning came after scores of HDC applicants desperately seeking to secure subsidised homes were conned of their hard-earned cash in the last few weeks by fraudsters. In a release, the HDC said in some cases, “the victims were actually defrauded of tens of thousands of dollars.”
Contacted on the issue, HDC managing director Brent Lyons told Guardian Media he was very concerned housing applicants were being ripped off during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am particularly concerned about people losing their hard-earned money to fraud. It’s over ten reported cases we have had in terms of people who actually called us to complain...and then there were reports of people whose friends called us who did not feel comfortable with what happened,” Lyons said in a telephone interview.
The HDC has over 100,000 applicants waiting in line for public housing.
Lyons said one has to keep in mind the person who handed over the cash but noted the persons who accepted the money have also committed a crime.
“You are paying to defraud the system.”
He said HDC’s security department had received complaints from “dozens” of applicants who were swindled in the last four weeks.
“We are again hearing a number of people complaining or making reports that somebody has attempted to defraud them or they have been contacted to pay some money somewhere.”
So far, the HDC has received reports of applicants handing over approximately $48,000 in cash to con artists.
In once instance, Lyons said one applicant paid $18,000 in cash to a fraudster, a case which is now the subject of a TTPS Fraud Squad investigation.
Lyons said the fraudsters had gone about planning an elaborate scam as well. He said they have been taking photos of single units, townhouses and apartments from the HDC’s website, most of which are in advanced stages of construction and using them to convince the unsuspecting applicants that their files were being processed.
“They have also been taking photographs of housing developments themselves, which they have been showing the applicants. What they would do....they would look at our Facebook page and social media and look for people who say they applied to HDC for a home and is awaiting a response. These people who have been waiting for a house are contacted via Facebook or Instagram by the fraudsters, who pretend to be an HDC employee asking them to make a deposit or down payment towards their new home,” he said.
“They tell you they could help in moving the process along if you pay money. I am not saying people are gullible. People want housing. If they get a call it lifts your hopes and the fraudsters try to give you something to hold on to make it sound legitimate.”
He said the scammers had found a creative way to swindle applicants by going online.
The HDC has photos of 20 housing sites on its website and social media pages. The fraudsters have showed bonafide applicants they approached photographs of the developments at Real Spring in Valsayn, Eden Gardens in Freeport and a private/public partnership project in Central.
Asked if the fraudsters could possibly be collaborating with HDC employees in the scam, Lyons said they had no evidence applicants’ personal information was being leaked to fraudsters on the outside.
“There are cases where people are purporting to be from the HDC ... and it happens all the time. We are saying nobody from the HDC will call you to meet them outside to conduct a transaction or payment. And if that happens don’t follow that... come into our head office.
“If anybody contacts you to do anything other than that, know it is a fraudulent of suspect transaction. That is is not how the HDC is run. We have our systems really locked tight. So there is no further investigation to be launched.”
This is not the first time HDC applicants have been targeted by scammers. In 2018, Lyons said the HDC had launched a “Scammers’ Alert” campaign to treat with such fraud. Last year, an HDC employee was also accused of fraudulently giving a house to a tenant living in the Greenvale Park development in La Horquetta. The fraud was only uncovered when ministry officials were screening residents to assist them following severe flooding in the community.
Lyons said with an increase in fraud again, they may have to return to the education campaign.
“Don’t let these fraudsters make you part with your hard-earned money,” Lyons urged.