Businesses are refusing to work with the State-owned Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) because of the Commission of Enquiry about to be launched into its operations and those of the construction sector, Prime Minister Patrick Manning says.

He made the disclosure as he said this was the Opposition’s objective in calling for the CoE, noting it was merely part of a plan on their part to slow down the pace of his administration’s national development objectives which UDeCOTT is meant to deliver along with other State-owned special purpose enterprises.

’It has already achieved, because a lot of people who had been contemplating going to work with UDeCOTT, on the basis of the Commission of Enquiry that has been called, have decided to back away from it and, therefore, the resources that would normally be available to UDeCOTT to conduct its business are now not available,’ Manning said as he replied to a motion of no-confidence in the Prime Minister during a lengthy House of Representatives sitting at the Red House, Port of Spain, after midnight Saturday.

As he addressed the UDeCOTT issue in the context of national development, Manning also hinted at the possibility of the general election being called at a time other than a date in 2012, when it is constitutionally due.

Manning made reference to the next general election as he said the population has high expectations of his administration, given the 26 seats it won in the Lower House in last year’s election, as opposed to the 15 seats won by the Opposition.

’And, therefore, from those to whom much is given much is expected and when we go to the polls in 2012 or whenever it is, the people are going to want to find out from us-’What have you done?’ And honourable members opposite know it and, therefore, their strategy, Mr Speaker is to seek to put every impediment in your way to ensure that you don’t perform,’ Manning said.

He then said the reason why his administration established State-owned special purpose enterprises like UDeCOTT was to ensure that the Government’s development projects are not held hostage by the Public Service.

’To circumvent all the red tape, to ensure that you don’t make yourself a hostage to the Public Service, which is always possible, especially when you are talking about development, giving the Public Service function for which the Public Service was not designed, when you start to do that and you put yourself in the hands of the public servants, then your rate of development is circumscribed,’ Manning said, stressed he was not criticising public servants.