?Minister with responsibility for the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) Emily Dick-Forde says citizens of this country should be ashamed because of the manner in which its executive chairman Calder Hart was forced to resign last weekend.
The Planning, Housing and Environment Minister was questioned by reporters during yesterday Senate tea break in the Parliament Building. She was first asked to respond to public calls for her to now resign over the Udecott matter. "Oh. There are calls for me to step down? Totally unaware of them," she said. Pressed for further comment, Dick-Forde insisted that she was not aware of the calls and was unable to respond. She later said when she was made aware of the calls she would listen to what the people said.
Dick-Forde said it would not be the first time such calls would have been made. Asked about Hart's resignation, Dick-Forde said: "Well, certainly Mr Hart's resignation would have been a surprise but it also would not have been because I think if any of you, as human beings, would have been hounded and treated the way he has been, I think you all would understand." She noted that resignations formed part of "normal governance, but I think in the circumstances, we in Trinidad and Tobago should be very ashamed for what has happened–a human being has been treated very, very badly by us." Asked about the calls for the removal of the remainder of the Udecott board, which included National Trade Union Centre president, Senator Michael Annisette, Dick-Forde said: "We'll deal with that in time. Mr Annisette has answered you all very appropriately as far as I am concerned."