Roodal Moonilal told a huge crowd of supporters Thursday night UDeCOTT - the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad & Tobago - bought a luxury executive villa in Tobago in 2007 for more than three million dollars.
And he called on the leader of the opposition to state whether he knew about it.
The housing minister said he was shocked to learn only recently about the purchase agreement in which UDeCOTT made a deal to buy the property and pay in US dollars. The amount, he said, was $US449,500, which is more than TT$3 million.
Keith Rowley was in charge of housing in the Manning PNM administration at the time and UDeCOTT was under the control his ministry with Calder Hart as executive chairman.
Moonilal was speaking at the second anniversary rally of the People's Partnership at the Mid Centre Mall car park in Chaguanas. He waved what he said was a copy of the deed for the property in Bon Accord.
The housing minister said he was shocked to learn only recently about the purchase agreement in which UDeCOTT made a deal to buy the property and pay in US dollars. The amount, he said, was $US449,500, which is more than TT$3 million.
"What they want a private villa for?" he asked.
The deed was signed by a lawyer named Sharon Clarke Rowley, Moonilal said. He said he understood that there are lawyer-client privacy issues and made it clear that he was not casting aspersions on the lady whose name is the same as Rowley's spouse.
He said issues like the Bon Accord villa are why the People's National Movement (PNM) did not want the Partnership to hold Thursday's rally.
Moonilal said the People's Partnership coalition government considers it a "sacred duty" to report to the people, adding that no other government had the courage and commitment to face the people every year and account on its stewardship.
"Once a year we come to our heartland at the Mid Centre Mall to account to you. What is wrong with that?" Moonilal asked. He said the government of which he is a part can do that because it has a proud record of achievement.
He said the PNM could not do that because its record between 2002 and 2010 was poor.
He noted that UDeCOTT under the Manning administration was marked by corruption and mismanagement, which led to the squandering of state resources. Today, he said, the same organisation has been transformed with systems in place to monitor everything and guarantee accountability.
The minister also spoke about achievements in the housing ministry, pointing out that in two years the government has handed out 1,600 housing units. He promised that the figure would reach 3,000 by the end of the year.
Moonilal said the PNM is bankrupt of constructive ideas and instead focus only on what the Prime Minister is doing and not doing, what dress she is wearing and which shoes and boots are on her feet. And when they have nothing more to say on that they focus on other people, he said.
He lamented the fact that week after week the opposition PNM holds news conferences but never contributes anything of substance. They never say about policy, he said.
He urged his audience to "stand up for battle against the PNM" and added, "You have to stand up to fight; we will conquer."
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