(Trinidad Express) Former chief operating officer at the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) Neelanda Rampaul yesterday vigorously denied the allegations made against her by Housing Minister Roodal Moonilal in his budget presentation on Tuesday, with respect to her having run up expenses at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, to the tune of $3.2 million.
In fact, she said she has never spent a night at the hotel. “I have only viewed the rooms as part of official Government tours,” she said.
Rampaul, in an e-mail response, said the expenses were incurred at “various corporate functions, corporate meetings and outside support staff. They are not for personal use”.
In the e-mail, Rampaul who resigned her position at UDeCOTT in March 2010, stated:
“Based on media reports and recent allegations cited by Government officials, I would like to issue the following statement:
“Formerly, as the chief operating officer at UDeCOTT, my responsibilities included the approval of expenditures for corporate activities. The expenditures in question detail company requirements for various corporate functions, corporate meetings and outside support staff—they are not for personal use.
“UDeCOTT owns the Hyatt and, as a principle of operations, the corporation chose to host events and business there, rather than outsource to other venues.
“Furthermore, I have never spent a night at the Hyatt. I have only viewed the rooms as part of official Government tours.”
In the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Moonilal had stated that Rampaul “racked up a $3,185,250 bill” over an eight-month period at the Hyatt. He said the expenditure was classified as “office expenses”, but included “cookies, sleepovers and lavish banquets”.
In detailing the expenditure, he said it included macaroon, almond, oatmeal cookies, mixed sushi, salmon, spicy negiri, pina coladas, pork chops, lamb chops, fish, curry meals, virgin banana and caviar. It even included Duracell batteries.
He said he had no problem with people liking the lavish life and wanting executive meals, but they must pay for it out of their own pockets and not have the taxpayers foot the bill.
At one point in itemising the expenses, Moonilal wondered aloud about Rampaul’s “fascination” with cookies. His colleague, Lincoln Douglas, quipped: “She must be Cookie Monster.”
