Regrello denies son receiving salary at corporation

SAN FERNANDO mayor Junia Regrello has denied opposition claims that one of his sons who is a law student at the University of the West Indies, is receiving a salary from the San Fernando City Corporation.

He says he also has no knowledge of children of other senior officials at the corporation being paid salaries even though they are full-time university students.

Accusations of alleged corruption at the corporation under Regrello’s tenure came during the United National Congress (UNC) Monday Night Forum platform in Marabella.

The man pointing fingers was Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal who charged that while normal workers were being sent home because there was no money to retain them, the corporation was dishing out salaries monthly for two children of senior officials who are attending university.

Questions were posed to Regrello after the last sitting of the 10th council on Tuesday afternoon to find out if his son was one such recipient.

The mayor, who has not submitted his name to be selected as an alderman, admitted his son Joshua – who took a year off from UWI St Augustine to pursue his musical career, returned to school only in September.

He said Joshua never worked at the corporation. He said another councillor has a daughter who is attending UWI and she too has never been hired by the city.

“Those claims are unfounded.”

He also denied claims, again made by Moonilal, that the car park built by the corporation near the San Fernando General Hospital was being rented out to a friend of the administration for $10,000 a month while it was raking in ten-times that amount.

Moonilal said: “By my very rough calculations, the income from that car park is over $100,000 per month and their friend is paying the corporation $10,000 per month.” He challenged the corporation to say who was benefiting from such an investment.

Regrello used the final statutory meeting before the December 2 local government election to state “this is a false, misleading and erroneous analysis given by Dr Moonilal.”

He said the PNM council inherited a space where there was unregulated parking and reports of car theft. He said a decision was taken to develop the space with the intention of providing additional parking for commuters and to hospital visitors at a low cost.

Regrello said owing to limited resources, the corporation entered into a private arrangement with one of three entrepreneurs who expressed interest and was willing to pay $10,000 per month.

He said contrary to Moonilal’s assertion, the park can hold 70 vehicles and at a rate of $25 a day, five days a week the parking lot earns $35,000 a month.