CHAIRMAN of the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute (TTTI), Victor Hart, has described the Commission of Enquiry into the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) and the construction sector as a farce.

Hart made the statement during a public forum entitled ’The Uff Commission: To be or Not to Be?’, which was held at the SALISES Conference Centre at the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) St Augustine campus yesterday.

He said the fact that public funds were used to pay for a battery of legal counsels to represent UDeCOTT and its chairman, Calder Hart, in an effort to stop a Commission of Enquiry which was originally intended to serve the public, was ridiculous.

As a result of this, Hart said he hoped that some legislation would be put in place to limit the amount of attorneys who could be hired in the future.

Hart also said he would be unable to forgive any of the key players in the Commission of Enquiry for the proceedings not being published in the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette. He said there were many instances where the commission had the opportunity to detect and correct this issue. These instances included the two occasions when the terms of reference for the enquiry were changed, Hart said.

Hart also voiced his concern that the final report on the commission will never be seen by the public.

He said that some six years after the Commission of Enquiry into the Piarco Airport was completed, the public is still unable to see the final report. He also drew reference to the report on the fatal collapse of the Caroni Bailey Bridge, which also has not been made public.