Former Udecott chief operating officer Neelanda Rampaul accumulated a $3.1 million bill over several months at the Hyatt Regency for cookies, pina colada drinks, pork chops and hotel sleepovers, all classified as “office expenses,” says Housing Minister Roodal Moonilal.
“I have the bills from Udecott right there—it included a $2,000 bill for eating,” Moonilal added, during his contribution to the 2012 budget debate on October 18 in the Lower House. “These items were obtained from September 2009 to April 2010, classified as ‘office expenses.’ “Wanton waste! All paid for by taxpayers!”
Moonilal said Udecott carried an image of corruption since it was the “playground for (ex-chairman) Calder Hart.” During the PNM’s tenure, Moonilal said, it was also a case of the Housing Development Corporation “gone wild.” He added: “There were ‘OJT’ contractors—somebody’s friend who get a contract and give it out to a contractor...people who never build a dog kennel was suddenly building 300 houses.” Moonilal said a Debe project of 2005 still wasn’t completed, and had a 250 per cent cost overrun from $71 million to $182 million, plus requiring $50 million in remedial work.
He said an Arima house had five walls in a bedroom and no room for the bed, while other projects had cracked houses, no waste-water plants or power.
Moonilal said part of this chain went straight back to PNM’s San Fernando East MP (Patrick Manning.) On Rampaul’s Hyatt bills, Moonilal listed items obtained by Rampaul on Udecott’s tab, including two dozen cookies and all room charges paid for by Udecott.“They buy up to Duracell battery and all and put it on Udecott bill,” the minister said. “...in one case for $2,000, all for eating. All of this was paid for by the taxpayers!”
“I have no difficulty with people who have their lavish tastes and have executive meals and drinks, but when it comes to paying, take the money from your purse or pocket and pay—don’t put it on an expense account!” He said items taken by Rampaul from the Hyatt’s pool bar and other places are “your personal expenses... it’s not for the taxpayer to foot the bill.” “But the PNM doesn’t want us to allocate money for forensic audits because if we audit properly, we might find out about these pork chops and lamb chops, etc,” Moonilal added.
Moonilal said Rampaul also overrode other Udecott personnel in writing parties to demand payments. He said ex-chairman Hart had a parallel structure alongside the duly employed Udecott personnel.
Although the Uff commission found there was no auditor at Udecott, Moonilal said one Deidre Etienne was listed as an executive manager (Risk and Audit) at a monthly salary of $70,000. He also listed other highlypaid Udecott managers among Hart’s team. Moonilal said the PNM government had only “thown a tarpaulin” over the Red House for eight years, and between 2005 and 2010, some $88 million was spent on restoration work.
He said roof restoration was delayed 650 days and 55 per cent of this was done, but there were 37 items of variations and an escalation of $8.7 million. He said scaffolding company Structural Engineering and Consultancy Services was paid thousands daily towards a total of $2.2 million of a $3 million contract for Red House work.
Noting cost overruns for several projects, Moonilal said: “The day a project moves from $171 million to $750 million, that’s the day I and those of us on this (PP) side need to pack up and go back to Cuchewan Trace, go back to Debe and Felicity and where we come from.”
Moonilal said the Government had expanded CEPEP from 5,000 workers to 9,000, and Tobago would soon have CEPEP. The programme would now also be cleaning beaches and river mouths. Moonilal said Attorney General Anand Ramlogan’s division had received allocations for paying legal fees since the PNM government had left the PP “with bills.” He said that in one year, the PP administration had had no scandal. “What?!!!” roared the PNM side.
Moonilal called on the PNM to say what money was misappropriated. He wondered how PNM stalwarts felt about PNM leader Keith Rowley abandoning the balisier tie which PNM founder Eric Williams had used and which ex-leader Manning maintained.
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