Opposition Senator Wade Mark says Prime Minister Patrick Manning has been too quiet on the ongoing controversy surrounding the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) and is calling on him to ’terminate his silence’.

He did so as he said only Manning as prime minister could put an end to the controversy by firing the entire UDeCOTT board which, on Monday, defended its right to file an application for judicial review against the Commission of Enquiry into the State-owned developers’ operations and that of the construction sector.

’We are calling on the prime minister to terminate his silence. It is time for him to tell the country his role in this whole matter, and we want Mr Manning to tell this country if (UDeCOTT executive chairman) Mr Calder Hart is holding any secrets for him. Why is it he has failed to intervene publicly in the national interest?’ Mark said.

He did so while speaking to reporters at the Red House, Port of Spain, yesterday about UDeCOTT’s decision to alter its lawsuit against the commission to effectively end the so-called ’freeze order’ of the enquiry’s proceedings.

On Friday, the High Court had granted the State-owned developer its application of interim relief, halting the enquiry’s proceedings until the hearing of the its lawsuit against the commission is heard in February 2010.

Calling the entire affair a ’dirty’ game, Mark said the ’credibility of all the players are (sic) suspect, quite frankly.’

He also called for UDeCOTT’s line minister, Planning, Housing and Environment Minister Dr Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde, to resign from office, in response to the disclosure made by the company’s deputy chairman Dr Krishna Bahadoorsingh on Monday that she ’never gave any directions to the board’ regarding its lawsuit against the commission.

’You cannot have UDeCOTT board of directors just unilaterally taking action against the State and taking action against the people and taking action against the Uff commission without getting a directive from the line minister. If that is the case, then the line minister... should tender her resignation and go; she should go home,’ Mark said.