Lead Editor- Newsgathering
kejan.haynes@guardian.co.tt
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says she believes the $400 million allocation to the Office of the Prime Minister will be used for the election. However, when asked if she had specific evidence or if it was just the timing, she admitted it was more because of the timing.
During a news conference yesterday, Persad-Bissessar continued to raise concerns about the allocation, which is listed simply as “construction of buildings.”
“The scope for corruption will be so tremendous because you’re not accounting for what you’re going to do,” Persad-Bissessar claimed.
She said now is the time to flag the irregularities and not after the election or when the Auditor General report comes out.
She used the example of the construction of the Central Block of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, saying every year there were allocations made under the Ministry of Health.
Persad-Bissessar said, “On page 201 of the 2025 Draft IDF estimates subhead 28, item 003, Re-Development of the PoS General Hospital, you will see an allocation of 75 million dollars for 2025 under the Ministry of Health. If the $75 million is allocated under the MoH for the Central Block for 2025, how can it be part of the $400 million under the item ‘construction of buildings’ in the OPM? This is double dipping if we are to believe Mr Rowley.”
However, Udecott refutes this interpretation. In a response to Guardian Media, Udecott said, “If you look at the various budgetary allocations for building or medical equipment for Central Block from 2020 to now you would find that there was never any allocation under the Ministry of Health. You will find for VAT, project management fees and other miscellaneous expenses.”
She also raised multiple other Udecott projects that were listed separately.
“I’ve shared with you the many Udecott projects to show that it goes under the line ministry. It doesn’t come out under OPM. If it comes out of OPM the line item is specifically mentioned,” Persad-Bissessar said.
“So, for example, in the draft estimates of the development programme you will see specific line items, Stollmeyer’s, Hayes Court, under the rubric ‘public buildings.’ This $400 million comes after a list of those public buildings where it’s actually listed and the amount allocated. This comes at the end of that, just a blanket, ‘construction of buildings.’ Which buildings?!” she asked.
Speaking at a public meeting in Belmont over the weekend, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said Udecott had done a lot of work in recent times on the Red House, President’s House, Queen’s Hall, and the Magnificent Seven buildings. He said for six years, Udecott was not paid any money, and some of the money allocated to the OPM was to pay them off.
Persad-Bissessar noted that even if it was a debt that needed to be paid, that information should be specifically listed as well.
She said the Red House and President’s House are also listed as specific items with a specific allocation.
She also questioned the OPM allocation of $50 million for entertainment expenses, which she said had increased from a previous allocation of just over $800,000.
“So why NOW? And why do you need 50 million dollars for rum and feting in an election year?” Persad-Bissessar asked.
‘Anil will call names’
Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader continued her accusations of “paedophiles in the PNM”, once again playing the video of the allegation made by Robert Sabga, former chairman of the 1997 task force appointed to investigate Children’s Homes. However, she declined to name names, instead saying that she would let Anil Roberts do so.
But it was pointed out to Persad-Bissessar that within her party, allegations of human trafficking surfaced and continue to swirl around one of her MPs who still sits in Parliament.
When asked if she was being hypocritical, she responded, “No, no, no. Has anyone reported anyone to the police? We reported the paedophile ring. We had a whole commission; an inquiry into childcare. Not only did I call on the police to look into it, the Prime Minister himself also called on McDonald Jacob (former acting commissioner) to look into it. These allegations of human trafficking, no one will go outside there and say it. No one has gone outside!”
She said in nine years, no policeman had knocked on her door.