Former Prime Minister Patrick Manning yesterday called on his successor Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to lay in Parliament all relevant state approvals for the construction for her Phillipine house which he described as "this extraordinary large building and compound." Manning wants Persad-Bissessar to lay in Parliament outline approval, final approval and approved building plans from Town and Country Planning, a copy of the certified deed of ownership of the property, as well as permission to build from the relevant local government authority, the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission and the Water and Sewerage Authority. "The Member for Siparia has demonstrated readiness to try and clear the air," Manning, who is in his 40th year of parliamentary service, stated in the release yesterday. "In this same spirit of co-operation, I would therefore expect her to accede to my request and willingly lay (the above) in the Parliament for the scrutiny of the nation."
He said he found "most unconvincing," the response of Persad-Bissessar on the cost so far of the building. "Indeed, just by looking at the pictures appearing in today's newspapers, it would take a simpleton to believe, as the Prime Minister claims, that this palatial looking residence has so far cost only $3 million," Manning said. "We have a very discerning population in T&T and they will not believe claims and statements that patently contradict the evidence before their eyes. "Mrs Persad-Bissessar, as the nation's leader, now has an inescapable responsibility to completely clear the air on this issue, if trust in her high office is to be maintained. "Integrity, transparency and 'serving the people' require no less. I expect therefore that the media would be given a comprehensive tour of this facility so that the country could have an idea of the regal splendour attained by this Prime Minister, who, with such convincing humility, never ceases to remind us of her utterly humble origins."
Manning said he thanks the Prime Minister for offering to sell him the mansion for $30 million, as reported in yesterday's Sunday Guardian.
"Unfortunately, I can't accept," he said. "Firstly, in my private affairs, I have never come anywhere near knowing that amount of dough.
"I started in a humble way and have returned as you can see, after 39 years of public service, to the kind of modest environment from which I originated. "The fact is I never saw public office as a means for self enrichment, illegal or otherwise. "I never benefited from drug money, for example." Suggesting that if she wanted to dispose of her property, the State could acquire it as a home for vagrants. "I am comforted by the fact that before any state acquisition of your residence, officialdom will ensure that this property is not tainted in any other way."