Noel Garcia gets second bite of HDC cherry

Udecott chairman Noel Garcia was appointed last Friday as chairman of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), his second stint in charge of the State's public housing agency.

A press release from Housing Minister Edmund Dillon said the HDC board is fully constituted. Other appointees include Kurt Salandy, Keston McQuilkin, Dr Jeffrey Reyes and Saira Samlal-Ramlogan.

The board, the release said, is tasked with treating all matters before it in a responsible and judicious manner. Its decisions must be in keeping with the overall policy of the ministry on affordable housing units for low- to lower middle-income families.

Garcia received his instrument of appointment from r Dillon at the ministry at South Quay, Port of Spain.

This is Garcia's second stint as head of the HDC. Under his previous stewardship, the Las Alturas towers were commissioned by prime minister Patrick Manning to provide housing for close to 100 families in Lady Young, Morvant. Even as the towers were being constructed, major cracks developed. The buildings were later demolished.

Former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar ordered a com­mis­sion of en­quiry to in­ves­ti­gate the con­struc­tion ofLas Al­turas. The commission's found in 2016 that while there were no grounds for crim­i­nal pro­ceed­ings to be brought against any­one, civ­il ac­tion could be tak­en against former Udecott chairman Calder Hart, former HDC MD Gar­cia, Udecott and the HDC for neg­li­gence in the way the project was han­dled.

Hart and Gar­cia subsequently filed separate law­suits against the enquiry's com­mis­sion­ers, who were headed by deceased former Justice of Appeal Mustapha Ibrahim.

Garcia, who is the brother of Arima MP and Education Minister Anthony Garcia, replaces Newman George, the husband of Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George, as HDC chairman.