Manning wants Rowley to account for missing $20M

The contentious Cleaver heights housing project in Arima is getting even more complex. Now Prime Minister Patrick Manning is claiming that there is now a discrepancy of an additional $10 million and he is still seeking a proper explanation for what he now says is a missing $20 million.

And he has said he is going to refer the matter to the commission of inquiry into the construction sector, which begins hearings next year.

Manning told Parliament Friday the project is "a source of great concern to the Prime Minister and as of now there has not been a proper explanation for the discrepancy of $10 million...In fact, the $10 million has now gone to $20 million and the project is only 75 per cent complete...God alone knows where it will all end.”

The "missing money" first surfaced when manning made his contribution to the budget in September, one day after his former cabinet colleague Keith Rowley lambasted his former boss on his handling of the allegations of corruption at the state-owned UDECOTT, The Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago.

Rowley was Housing Minister when the Cleaver heights project began. Manning fired him from cabinet in April when he questioned a UDECOTT project to build a hotel, which he said was being done without proper cabinet oversight.

Manning told the public that he moved against Rowley for his "wajang" behaviour, not because he questioned UDECOTT. And in any case Manning said everything with the project that Rowley raised was above board.

On Thursday Rowley produced government documents obtained by his lawyer showing there was no discrepancy at the housing project and demanded an apology from Manning and filed a motion seeking to take Manning before Parliament’s Privileges Committee.

House Speaker Barendra Sinanan has postponed a ruling on the matter. But before the speaker could decide Manning, in what appeared to be a move to pre-empt the speaker, added another dimension to the controversy.

Instead of an apology Manning produced what he said was more evidence about irregularities at the project and tried to turn the table on Rowley, questioning some of Rowley’s explanations on the issue. That's when the $10 million became $20 million.

“As a result of all these concerns, I have directed the Attorney General to refer this project to the Commission of Enquiry into the construction sector and to ask the commission to give it the requisite level of priority,” Manning told the House, still insisting that he was not imputing improper motive to anyone or casting aspersions.

Manning said NH International, the contractor for the project, had approached the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) for a joint venture arrangement in which NH would provide the land and necessary infrastructural works at $40.8 million and 408 housing units for $92.6 million. The entire project would cost $133.2 million.

But Manning said when the HDC board considered the matter it found that the aggregate figure was given as $143 million—$10 million more. That was the same argument he used in the original charges.

And subsequent to his statement in April Rowley and government officials had confirmed that it was a clerical error and that there was no discrepancy. In additional NH produced documents to show that no money was missing. In fact, NH threatened to sue Manning.

But Manning went back to his original concerns. “That matter came to my attention only on the very morning and try as we may, we could not find an explanation for the discrepancy of $10 million,” Manning told MPs.

“In those circumstances, I thought that the MP for Diego Martin who was Housing Minister at the time, might be in a position to assist us and I asked him ‘where the money gone, give us an explanation.’ ”

Manning noted that while Rowley said he didn't have anything to do with the discussions on the contract he had evidence to the contrary. He produced a letter dated April 26, 2005, from the then chief executive officer of the National Housing Authority (NHA), now the HDC, to Rowley as Housing Minister, which showed under the Housing Act, the authority "may, with the approval of the Minister, enter into contracts to carry out" projects which included the Cleaver Heights contract to NHIC at a cost of $143.449 million.

That's where the missing money surfaces. He said the project received the outline approval from Rowley but noted no project which requires funding from the Treasury can be executed by any Minister or agency without the approval of the Cabinet. He said with reference to Cleaver Heights, "this was done".

Manning also said Rowley's previous assertion that any discrepancy was a typographical error has not yet been proven and no contract was ever signed to govern the construction of the housing development.

"The project had outline approval, it never had final approval from the Town and Country Planning Division, and that contractual arrangement was entered into between the NHA/HDC and NH International on the basis of a letter of commitment. No contract was signed, Mr Speaker.

"In other words, under the supervision of the distinguished member for Diego Martin West as Minister, the NHA or HDC entered into a 133, 143 million dollar contract without the contract being signed. There was no signed contract. Mr Speaker, I leave you to draw your own conclusions, but all of this are the things that cause us some concern," Manning said.

He insisted that based on all the information he was not misleading the Parliament. “If therefore on that occasion anybody mislead this honourable House, it was not the Prime Minister,” Manning said.

Manning reiterated that the contract for the project did not provide for any variation in the amount of money but claimed that in Valuation Report Number 38 (August 2008), the contract sum had risen to $101.1 million and the sum for land/infrastructure has also risen to $47 million. “And the variation as at that time, with the project approximately 75 per cent complete, is now $20.3 million" he said.