A heated political clash has erupted between Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath and his predecessor Colm Imbert, over alleged lavish spending at the ministry while Imbert was there.
The tension arose after Padarath claimed Imbert $1.3 million was spent to renovate an office for Imbert at One Alexandra Place after he was shifted from the Finance Ministry to Public Utilities by former prime minister Stuart Young in February.
Speaking during Monday’s motion to adopt the report of the Standing Finance Committee, Padarath raised eyebrows when he claimed he inherited a hefty renovation bill allegedly commissioned by the former minister, pointing squarely at Imbert.
“The member only telling us half the story by giving us don’t engage in any reckless, wild and crazy expenditure, but committed this Government to 1.3 million dollars for his frivolity, his excess, his arrogance and his abuse,” Padarath said.
He claimed thousands of dollars were spent on outfitting the office for Imbert after he assumed his new office in former PM Young’s cabinet.
“The design fees cost taxpayers for a 30x30 office for the minister, $60,000. Mr Speaker, the member wanted a new workstation which cost the country $40,000.”
He also claimed the costs climbed further to outfit the space with art pieces.
“You know this government, they love paintings, they bought all the Cazabon paintings. The former prime minister was a connoisseur of paintings and art. The member for Diego Martin North East has the same type of fetish. Mr Speaker, for the minister’s office, the paintings cost the country $30,000. If it wasn’t bad enough that the paintings were $30,000, they paid $35,000 to install the paintings.”
Padarath condemned Imbert and the previous PNM administration for what he said was a mismanagement of taxpayers’ dollars.
But Imbert insisted that the works were completed at a significantly lower cost than what Padarath referenced during his contribution.
“The cost was $160,000; the minister is a stranger to the truth,” Imbert said.
The Diego Martin North East MP also later took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and delivered a further scathing rebuttal.
“UNC MP Padarath falsely insinuated tonight that I spent $1.3M on a 30’ x 30’ room for myself at the Ministry of Public Utilities, which is a blatant UNTRUTH,” Imbert posted.
“The truth is the entire 6th floor of the Ministry was renovated, and the work on the Minister’s office only cost $0.16M.”
He also explained that when he left the ministry in April, “only new carpeting, new window blinds and new lighting were installed in the minister’s office and the walls painted at a total cost of 70k.”
In a direct response to Imbert’s counterclaim, Padarath yesterday called for the former minister to clear the air on the expenditures.
“I am yet to hear from the former minister how we ended up having to pay for luxurious imported sofa sets, lighting fixtures, coffee and tea joiners and two paintings that costed $68,000 combined at a time when the former minister told public servants that the country couldn’t give them increases in their salaries and needed to tighten their belts.”