THE Commission of Enquiry into the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago and the construction sector, chaired by Prof John Uff, is a political ploy that never intended to find any damning evidence against UDeCOTT, a senior lecturer in political science at the University of the West Indies (UWI) says.

Dr Bishnu Ragoonath made the statement during a public forum entitled ’The Uff Commission: To be or Not to Be’ at the SALISES Conference Centre at UWI’s St Augustine campus yesterday.

’When I look at the politics I have to ask, was this commission really set up to give a real report or to not report at all? ... this Commission of Enquiry was set up more for political convenience and manoeuvres,’ he said.

Ragoonath also slammed Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira’s ’deafening silence’ during the entire situation surrounding UDeCOTT and the Commission of Enquiry into its operations.

Ragoonath said as Finance Minister, Nunez-Tesheira also acted as corporation sole and was therefore responsible for the State-owned company. He said all it took was a note signed by corporation sole to ensure that any State-owned company abide by Government’s decisions. However, what was more disheartening than the Finance Minister’s silence was how much Prime Minister Patrick Manning has said by his actions as the issue continues to attract public outrage, Ragoonath said. He said such actions included the Prime Minister hugging embattled UDeCOTT chairman Calder Hart in public and additional contracts being awarded to the embattled corporation.