Attempts are being made to contact former executive chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott), Calder Hart, to have him appear before the commission of enquiry into the Las Alturas housing project at Lady Young Road, Morvant.
Udecott's lawyer Faydia Mohammed made the disclosure yesterday when questioned by commission chairman Mustapha Ibrahim on whether Hart, whom he deemed an "important witness," would be appearing.
Appearing on Udecott’s behalf and in the absence of lead attorney Kathryn Denbow, Mohammed said efforts were made via Fed Ex, to contact Hart, who is believed to be residing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Meanwhile, lawyer for the commission, Jagdeo Singh, said “every effort was being made” to locate former general manager of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Noel Garcia, to also have him appear before the commission.
Garcia is believed to be living and working in Ghana.
HDC’s lawyer Vincent Nelson, QC, had previously indicated that Garcia had declined to provide a witness statement when asked, following which they lost contact with him.
Singh’s disclosure yesterday followed a question from Ibrahim who sought to ascertain if Garcia would appear.
Ibrahim suggested to Singh” “Perhaps you may have to offer him passage here...He’s a very important witness because of what has emerged thus far.”
Advising Mohammed that there was a court process which could be invoked to compel someone to appear before the commission, Ibrahim said: “You can tell him when he does come, we will make all efforts to accommodate him and not keep him unduly.”
Concluding its first session yesterday, the enquiry will resume on April 7 but will continue only until April 10 —to accommodate three foreign-based witnesses on behalf of the HDC.
They include Frank Arland, a geotechnical engineer of Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers in New York; Dr Robert Ratay, a forensic structural engineer from New York; and John Kangos of Severan Consulting International in Florida.
Yesterday’s session was aborted shortly after it convened, following submissions from Singh that the scheduled cross-examination of witness Winston Riley would not take place as planned.
Riley, who is the chairman of Planning Associates Limited, was due to return yesterday to enable lawyer Justin Phelps to conclude his cross-examination, and for Singh to re-examine him.
Phelps is appearing alongside Anabelle Sooklal for Geotech Associates Limited.
Both Phelps and Sooklal were absent from the proceedings yesterday, as Singh informed the commissioners that they had received an e-mail on Thursday night indicating Phelps’ decision not to continue his cross-examination of Riley.
A copy of the e-mail received from Sooklal was yesterday presented to the commission.
Ibrahim later instructed that a copy of the e-mail be recorded, so as to ensure there was no “doubt” later on.
The hearings will resume at 9.30 am on April 7.
At a glance
The commission of enquiry was set up to investigate “the entire process which led to the construction of the Las Alturas Towers at Lady Young Gardens, Morvant, and all other acts, matters or decisions done or undertaken incidental to and including the construction” of the project, which includes the procurement process. Two multi-storey units of the Las Alturas housing project began falling apart after construction and the $26 million towers were earmarked for demolition.
They were part of a larger project, which was originally budgeted at $65 million and then rose to $90 million. The commission is chaired by former justice of appeal Mustapha Ibrahim and includes civil engineers Dr Myron Wing-Sang Chin and Anthony Farrell; they were appointed by President Anthony Carmona last December. The secretary is attorney Laraine Lutchmedial. Last September, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar recommended an enquiry into the project after raising concerns about the two towers which had to be demolished.
Persad-Bissessar said Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, who was a former housing minister under the PNM, as well as Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde, who succeeded him, have denied responsibility for the project’s failure. Rowley said though he welcomed the probe, it would be another waste of taxpayers’ dollars.