Stephen Mendes would not be returning to work at Design Collaborative Associates Limited (DCAL) for "a long, long time," an official at the firm said yesterday. Another DCAL official explained that Mendes was away from the office on sick leave. "He is on sick leave. I have no idea when he will be back in office," she said. The Guardian was also unable to contact Mendes at his Westmoorings home. A woman answering his phone at home was unwilling to speak about Mendes' alleged involvement in designing a mega-church in the Heights of Guanapo.
Mendes has not come forward to either dismiss or acknowledge allegations in the public domain about Prime Minister Patrick Manning's alleged controversial involvement in the construction of the Lighthouse of the Lord Jesus Christ Church. Directors of Lighthouse of the Lord Jesus Christ Church at the Heights include Julianna Pena-Devonish, spiritual adviser to the Prime Minister. Manning has admitted to visiting the site of the church more than a year before Cabinet approval was given for the grant of State land for its construction. In 1976, Mendes established an associate DCAL office in Trinidad and was listed at its principal director.
His biography on the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Architects (TTIA) Web site lists him to be the project director of the joint DCAL, Genivar and Hyder Consulting planning study for the redevelopment of the 100 acres of the waterfront of Port-of-Spain.
When the Guardian visited DCAL's office at Ellerslie Plaza, Maraval, yesterday afternoon, an official said: "None of them (the directors) are here. We do not have directors anymore. That is as plainly as I can put it." She redirected questions to another DCAL director, Christopher Bent. "(You can speak with) our supervisor (Christopher Bent) but he went out to a meeting. I doubt he is coming back today. They say he may not be back today," she said. Bent was also said to be an architect and urban designer with Genivar.
The report of the Commission of Enquiry into Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (Udecott) and the local construction sector raised several concerns about Udecott's contracts to Genivar. "It is clearly arguable that the regular employment of one firm (Genivar) as project manager was an abuse of the provision of the 1998 rules permitting sole selection," the report said. The report added: "This is not to suggest the choice of Genivar was in any way inappropriate to the tasks to be undertaken. "(But Genivar's) regular employment by Udecott raises issues of fair competition and openness as well as the obvious need for effective competition."
When asked when Mendes would return, a DCAL official said: "Mr Mendes is not here in the office and would not be here for a long, long time." Questioned about how long was "a long, long time," she responded: "We have no idea." When asked whether he was not in the country, she declined to comment. Over the weekend, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar produced documents claiming to establish connections between the Prime Minister and former Udecott executive chairman Calder Hart in the design and construction of the Lighthouse of the Lord Jesus Christ Church at the Heights of Guanapo. Persad-Bissessar also produced documents showing that Shanghai Construction was building the church and that Udecott was the client.
They included a letter, dated May 2, 2006, from Mendes to Hart. Mendes was quoted in the letter as indicating that he had finished and submitted the architectural and engineering drawings for the church. He wrote: "The structural drawings developed to date are not in accordance with the recent changes made to the architectural drawings as a result of recent PM's requests. Additionally, they need to be developed in far greater detail." He also wrote: "Additionally, the consultants need to develop and finalise their general arrangement drawings due to the recent changes called for by the PM, including those related to the residential component appended to the church."