MR CALDER HART should resign as chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT). He should also step down from every other official position he holds. And, if he does not, Prime Minister Patrick Manning must remove him.

The core reason for this is quite simple: Mr Hart does not have the confidence of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. While the allegations that have emerged from the Uff Commission of Enquiry are yet to be tested in a court of law, citizens are generally satisfied that a prima facie case has been made out against UDeCOTT and its chairman.

To cite just a few instances, the corporation’s own board members have admitted to bypassing their own procurement procedures or otherwise failing to adhere to best industry standards. Even before the enquiry commenced, the corporation failed to meet deadlines for submission of documents and even excised or blacked out sections of those documents that were submitted, thus creating the perception that they had something to hide.

Additionally, this organisation, which has spent billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money, has filed no accounts for 2007 and 2008, as mandated by the laws of T&T. And, in the files of the Integrity Commission, a formal report from a forensic accountant complains that UDeCOTT gave him culled files which made it impossible for him to do his job.

So what we have here is more than enough smoke to indicate a serious fire. Yet UDeCOTT continues to be defended by key Government spokespersons. Works Minister Colm Imbert, at the start of the enquiry, said that UDeCOTT’s projects were problem-free-a claim that has now been proven demonstrably false with all the cost overruns and delays on many projects.

Most recently, Planning and Housing Minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde has defended UDeCOTT’s moves to derail the commission of enquiry itself on the basis of bias. But, given the role this minister has played in the Cleaver Heights fiasco, her defence of UDeCOTT can only be considered a further indictment of the corporation. And the final straw - if, indeed, any such straw was needed - is the insult of UDeCOTT using taxpayers’ money to undermine a commission of enquiry set up with taxpayers’ money.

In the midst of all this, it is astonishing that Mr Hart remains ensconced in his well-paid posts. It is especially amazing, given that fact, that Prime Minister Manning himself has readily dismissed other officials, including one of his elected MPs, on far flimsier grounds. In the face of the widespread public criticism of UDeCOTT, the Prime Minister’s continued protection of Mr Hart undermines good governance and democratic practice.

It cannot continue. Mr Hart must go, or be made to go.