(Trinidad Express) – Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has trained her political guns on Prime Minister Patrick Manning, turning up the heat over the controversial UDeCOTT fiasco and filing, in the Parliament, a motion of no confidence in Manning over his conduct in the matter.

The motion of no confidence in Manning comes on the heels of the resignation of UDeCOTT chairman Calder Hart, after the Congress of the People (COP) produced documentary evidence which showed Hart’s wife, Sherrine, is related to directors of a Malaysian company which was awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to construct the Ministry of Legal Affairs Tower.

Since UDeCOTT and Hart’s integrity has come into question, Manning has stoutly defended them both, even giving praise.

The last person to file a motion of no confidence in Manning was Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj in September 2008. Hundreds of PNM supporters had turned out to support Manning in Woodford Square when the motion was debated.

On Monday, Persad-Bissessar said the motion filed expresses the lack of confidence held by the population in Manning, arising from his questionable conduct in a number of controversial matters, “the latest of these is the Mr Manning’s ‘Hart’ failure”.

“That the Prime Minister over the years, and recently as one month ago, had stoutly defended the integrity of Calder Hart and his relationship with him, makes the Prime Minister culpable to the dubious dealings which have now been placed in the public domain,” Persad-Bissessar said.

“Further, the immediate resignation of Mr Hart from UDeCOTT must place all of the current multi-million-dollar projects on hold, as there must now be a forensic investigation into all the activities of both that organisation and its former chairman. This is likely to have a severe impact on the economy.”

Persad-Bissessar said Manning must be held accountable for his actions.

“He has even gone as far as removing one of his senior ministers, Keith Rowley, from his Cabinet because he dared to question the lack of Cabinet oversight on UDeCOTT, and raised the prospect of the corrupt practices at UDeCOTT through the irregular procedures and flagrant violation of ethics by Mr Hart,” she said.

She said the population is reeling from the questions which now hang over the head of the Prime Minister, whose close relationship with Hart, “his lavish praise of his work and shameful defence of all charges against the former chairman, even when so much evidence became known during the Uff Commission of Enquiry, all combine to making Patrick Manning answerable to the people.

“The Prime Minister no longer enjoys the confidence of the people to honour his oath of office and to serve the people of this nation in their interest without fear or favour.”