UFF: NUGFW land deal needs investigating

In a Report presented to President George Maxwell Richards on March 29, which was published on Easter Sunday, April 4, exclusively by Sunday Newsday, Uff highlights the land transaction which, in his view, calls for explanation. “The Cabinet, during (former housing minister Dr Keith Rowley’s) tenure as minister of housing agreed to sell the land at a greatly reduced price to the NUGFW to facilitate the construction of low-cost housing on behalf of the Union,” Uff notes.

The sale to NUGFW, which took place in February 2004, had a price tag of $2.3 million for nine hectares of land. However, “the union took the decision to re-sell the land to Udecott at a price of approximately $7.5 million.”

“No information has been volunteered as to whether the windfall profit realised by the Union is still held in their account, and if so on what terms,” Uff observes. “The Commissioners were not provided with any rationale for the re-sale of the land. This requires further investigation.”

Senator Michael Annisette, who held shares in the NUGFW holding company that sold the land, is a Udecott director.