‘Suspicious’ $400m for Office of the Prime Minister

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar wants the Prime Minister to explain what she says could be perceived as a “double dipping” of public funds in the allocation of $400 million for construction under the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in the 2025 national budget.

Persad-Bissessar called a press conference at the Office of the Opposition Leader in Port of Spain, on October 7, challenging a range of claims Dr Rowley made at the PNM’s post-budget discussion at the Belmont Community Centre on Friday October 3.

Among them, Rowley addressed an allocation of $400 million to the OPM, which he said was for debts to the Urban Development Corporation of TT (Udecott) for several construction projects, including the 540-bed new central block at the Port of Spain General Hospital currently being built.

At the PNM meeting, according to a Newsday report, Rowley said, “Udecott reports to the PM. So, any allocation to Udecott will come up in the budget as (under the) OPM…You think any sane and sober Opposition Leader should come to Parliament (and tell) the country that the PM take $400 million?”

He added that Udecott had not been paid for six years.

Persad-Bissessar disputed this on Monday.

She noted that funding for Udecott projects, including the hospital, had already been allocated through other ministries in the 2025 Draft Estimates of Development Programme.

She stressed that the relevant line ministries, including the ministries of sport and health, had paid Udecott over the past several years for certain projects.

“I can go on for almost every Udecott project and show where funds were allocated under different ministries, and also show that payments have been consistently made every year to Udecott,” Persad-Bissessar said.

“So is the Ministry of Health going to be paying for that central block, and will the OPM also be paying for work done? That would be what is known as double dipping.”

The Siparia MP described the $400 million allocation to the OPM as “suspicious,” suggesting it was more for electioneering than actual construction.

“This $400 million is for elections and not construction of buildings and definitely not for Udecott payments,” she said, adding that the sub-item lacked major details, including the projects in question and the builders.

“Today, I regret to inform the country that this allocation has become even more suspicious since the PM’s claims on Friday night.
“I call on the Prime Minister to account for this mysterious 400 million allocation. These are ghost buildings that have been allocated $400 million."

Last Friday, at the PNM meeting, Rowley said Udecott had done a lot of work in recent times, including the Red House, President’s House, Queen’s Hall, Stollmeyer’s Castle, fire stations, community centres and other buildings.

“You know one of the things the PM’s Office is doing under Udecott? It’s building a new hospital block in the Port of Spain Hospital. The tower is under construction – 540 beds. It has to be paid for,” he said.

Persad-Bissessar accused Rowley of trying to deflect attention from her critiques of his government’s handling of national affairs, particularly in her response to the 2025 budget in the Parliament, last Friday, hours before the PNM’s post-budget public meeting.

She also challenged Rowley’s claims about his government’s expenditure and borrowing compared to expenditure and borrowing under her government.

She argued that, contrary to Rowley’s assertions, his administration had spent half a trillion dollars over nine years, with little to show beyond “debt, deficits, and despair.”

“He claims his government borrowed $60 billion when the facts from the CBTT (Central Bank) and his government’s own figures show that by the end of 2025, it will have borrowed $119.88 billion – twice the amount that he’s claiming,” she said, citing information in the Annual Review of the Economy, published by the Ministry of Finance.

“He must explain why his government borrowed $119.88 billion but has nothing to show. Where has the money gone? Because they have no achievements besides high crime.

“Where is he getting his figures?” she asked.