Manning administration planned to lease out Red House at commercial rates: Ramgoolam

The Minister of Public Administration told the Trinidad and Tobago Senate on Wednesday the Manning PNM administration had planned to lease the Red House at commercial rates.

Senator Nan Ramgoolam said two weeks ago she found out that there was a Memorandum of Understanding dated october 13, 2009 between the Public Administration Division and UDeCOTT about the matter.

The MOU stated that upon completion of restoration of the building UDeCOTT would lease the property to the Public Administration Ministry “at a rental fee to be negotiated and be agreed between the parties in accordance with competitive commercial rates.”

Ramgoolam said the Manning gave UDeCOTT a contract in 2004 to restore the Red House for the exclusive use of the Prime Minister's office at a cost of $174.8 million. That job should have been completed since last month, she said.

She told the Senate her ministry’s legal advisers have said the intention was for money for the restoration to come from the Infrastructure Development Fund. She noted that UDeCOTT never got legal ownership and the leasing arrangement is not legally binding.