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UDECOTT chairman Noel Garcia has accused Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal of spreading lies about the company’s “squandermania” under the Prime Minister.

Speaking yesterday at a media conference, he responded to allegations made by Moonilal on Monday at the UNC Monday Night Forum in Debe. Moonilal claimed the prime minister’s residence project in Tobago ballooned from $2 million for minor repairs to $18 million, and contractors wanted more money.

Garcia said: “It is clear mischief and it is deliberate mischief.

“Dr Moonilal was the former line minister for Udecott and he should have known better than to spin a tale of lies, half-truths and innuendoes that, in my view, was designed to impugn the integrity of contractors who work with Udecott and to impute criminal motive in some of the allegations that he made.”

He said Moonilal admitted discussion surrounding the construction of a new residence for the prime minister in Tobago began under the UNC administration, and Cabinet in 2016 agreed to proceed with the construction and the Office of the Prime Minister (Tobago) took responsibility. Garcia said Cabinet approved a budget for the consultancy services at $500,000 and at no time was the cost of construction $500,000.

Garcia said the Housing Ministry was responsible for Udecott before the change of administration and after, and the Office of the Prime Minister assumed responsibility in November 2018. He said Udecott undertook the conceptual designs and costing for the residence using internal resources and therefore saved the Government $500,000.

Udecott invited experienced and reputable contractors from both Trinidad and Tobago, he said, for a competitive bidding process for the design, construction and outfitting of the residence and he listed the ten contractors. The invitations were issued on April 21, 2017 and closed in June 2, 2017 and Parks International, a Tobago-based contractor, was identified as the top-ranked proponent.

Approval was granted by the board of directors in July 2017 to enter into negotiations with the company. Garcia said the agreed cost by the parties was $17,998,114.48. “So I don’t know where Dr Moonilal got that the project started at $500,000, went to $2 million, went to five, went to nine, went to 19.

“Mischief. Be careful what you hear, because lies spread quicker than the truth. And Dr Moonilal – I cry shame on him, being a former line minister for Udecott, to impugn the integrity of the officers and the officials of Udecott.

“Again, this lie that he is perpetuating that Dr Rowley, since he became line minister, is causing Udecott to leak taxpayers’ funds. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

He said records show Udecott reduced the Red House restoration costs from $1 billion to $441 million, and the cost of work on President’s House from almost $300 million to $97 million.

“Under the stewardship of Dr Rowley, as leader of the Cabine,t Udecott has reduced costs across the board.

“So for Dr Moonilal to come and address the national community and make outrageous, unsubstantiated, false statements is really an affront to the people of TT and the hard-working professionals of Udecott and contractors who are carrying out the work.”

He also said Moonilal claimed a “highway” was being built for the Tobago project, but Garcia said the upgrade of the access road was not part of the scope, and a 464-metre road was not a highway, as Moonilal had painted it.