Tuesday, May 20 2008

THE ASSOCIATION of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT) yesterday supported the call by fired Trade and Industry Minister Dr Keith Rowley, the Joint Consultative Council of the construction industry and other groups for a commission of inquiry into the affairs of the Urban Development Corporation of TT (Udecott).

In a statement, APETT said it believed that the special parliamentary Joint Select Committee (JSC) which Prime Minister Patrick Manning proposed to review public complaints against Udecott “was not sufficiently empowered to serve the public purpose.”

“We refer specifically to its inability to subpoena or demand information from any organisation during its deliberations,” APETT stated.

The group said because Udecott controlled a substantial amount of State funds and was in a position to exert “considerable influence” on the development of the country and the domestic construction sector, a public inquiry into Udecott was necessary.

APETT added that “a full forensic audit by an independent auditor may also be deemed necessary.” Last week, Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives Colm Imbert said Government had not ruled out the possibility of a commission of inquiry investigating Udecott depending on what arose from meetings of the special JSC.

“This is a very serious committee. If anything is uncovered in these committee meetings that would warrant an inquiry of a more serious nature such as a forensic audit or even a commission of inquiry, that would be considered. This select committee is in fact a very powerful instrument of inquiry,” Imbert said.