Housing Development Corporation Thread.

[AB.Trini]

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

[Deeks]

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.

[Socapro]

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.

[Deeks]

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.

[Jumbie]

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.

[Flex]

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.

[Deeks]

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!

[weary1969]

Joint income of 30,000 a month is now considered middle class. Your government working for you certainly not working for me.

[Brownsugar]

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!!!!

[Socapro]

Charles knocks PP’s HDC house distribution
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.

[Socapro]

Singh in reply to Opposition question:
$2.26bn spent on 6,999 houses in 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.

[Flex]

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.”

[Flex]

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.

[Flex]

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 ( ) 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.

[Flex]

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.

[kounty]

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.

[Flex]

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.

[Flex]

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.

[Sando prince]

[Flex]

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.

[Flex]

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.

[Flex]

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.

[Sando prince]

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.

[Flex]

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.

[Flex]

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.

[Flex]

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.”

[Flex]

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.


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.


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.

[Flex]

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.

[Sando prince]

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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[Sando prince]

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