Govt plans to retake Mille Fleurs from Law body

In a bold move, Government is planning to take back Mille Fleurs House from the Law Association of TT which was given to the Association to be renovated and used as its headquarters in 2002. Decision to hand over the building to the legal body was taken by the United National Congress (UNC) government in September 2001.  Some members of  the Law Association are not prepared to just return the building in which they have already invested over $500,000.

The association has carded a meeting for tomorrow to consider Governments’s decision and to take such decision as the meeting may deem appropriate. The meeting is expected to attract a heavy turnout of attorneys, both senior and junior, to decide whether they were going to resist the Government’s move or simply bow out.  In a letter written to the association, Government indicated its intention to retake possession of the building and renovate it themselves. Mille Fleurs is one of seven buildings around the Queen’s Park Savannah referred to as the “Magnificent Seven.” Some attorneys are fuming mad over Government’s decision and are expected to vent their feelings at tomorrow’s meeting which begins about 3 pm at the Convocation Hall in the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain. Already some attorneys are talking about what they call Government’s obsession to possess buildings.

They were referring to Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s decision to break down an entire block, most of which was recently renovated or newly constructed buildings, so he could  build a new home for Parliament. They also made reference to Manning stopping the legal destruction of an illegal building in Laventille because  a certain religious organisation wanted to use it. This special meeting is expected to have much fireworks with some of the top legal minds in the country advising.

Although it was a UNC Cabinet that decided to gave the association the building, it was actually handed over to the association by a PNM government on February 27, 2002. Former PNM Attorney General Glenda Morean was present at the handing over and promised Government’s support to ensure that legal vesting of the building to the association took place in the shortest possible time. The building was handed over to then president of the association, Karl Hudson-Phillips QC, but tomorrow new president Russel Matineau SC will have to rally his troops on their next move.