(Trinidad Express) The “Patrick” referred to by Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal was Patrick Caesar, a former manager of Nipdec and not former prime minister Patrick Manning.
This was stated yesterday by former UdeCOTT boss Calder Hart in response to an Express query on statements made by Moonilal about UdeCOTT’s purchase and use of a TT$3 million villa in Bon Accord, Tobago.
“The “Patrick” of whom Mr Moonilal speaks, is Mr Patrick Caesar. Mr Caesar was a Nipdec project manager recruited to manage the joint Nipdec/UdeCOTT operation in Tobago and an excellent employee of the company. It is unfortunate that Mr Moonilal, a senior Cabinet Minister could misrepresent the situation like he did,” stated Hart.
It is the second time in two weeks that Hart, who’s been quiet since his departure from the country in March 2010, has issued a statement to Express, both times dealing with the Tobago villa.
At the People’s Partnership two-year anniversary celebrations on May 24, Moonilal had accused Hart of using taxpayers’ money to purchase a villa in October 2007. Hart, in his first response, had questioned the “highly politicised manner” which the information was made public given that it was common knowledge between UdeCOTT and Nipdec that the villa was purchased for use by a manager and was not a vacation home.
Hart was chairman of Nipdec and executive chairman of UdeCOTT.
Hart maintained yesterday the villa was purchased for use by a manager and was not a vacation home.
“Once again, it is important to correct the false and misleading accusations made by Minister Roodal Moonilal, this time during yesterday’s House of Representatives sitting to debate a Government motion to increase the 2012 national budget by TT$1.5 billion,” he said.
“As chairman, I consulted with the boards of directors and the executive teams on all decisions required—the villa notwithstanding. As acknowledged by the current UDECOTT chairman, a MOU existed between UDeCOTT and Nipdec and therefore no one acted alone in UDeCOTT’s decision to acquire the villa, or in any other matter during my tenure at UDeCOTT. There is a guest book for official record and oversight,” he explained.
The villa, he said, was used in the manner for which it was purchased which was simply “official residence”.
On Monday, Dr Moonilal read out comments like “Lovely place Patrick, thanks for inviting” from a guest book from the villa which he visited while in Tobago last week for the People’s Partnership Cabinet retreat.
Moonilal, leader of Government business, had questioned the use of the villa by guests and how the state company was able to pay US$450,000 for the property as no approval for the villa could be found.
“This was done without board approval, it was done without Cabinet approval and I venture to say it was done without the knowledge of the then minister in charge of UDeCOTT,” he had told Parliament.
After he made public comments from the guest book, Moonilal said it could not have been acquired for any Nipdec manager.
