Trinidad Government Minister Anil Roberts has called on St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves to answer questions on how his wife, son and daughter were all “lucky” to obtain three separate subsidised Housing Development Corporation (HDC) homes in Trinidad.
Gonsalves in an interview with the Trinidad Express said that he never asked any favours of former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley or anyone in the People’s National Movement (PNM) to facilitate three apartments at Victoria Keyes in Diego Martin for his wife, son, and daughter.
The prime minister said the claims made by Minister in the Ministry of Housing Anil Roberts were “spurious” and that the purchase of these apartments was lawfully made without any political interference.
He said Roberts wants to “spill political bile” and support the Opposition in St Vincent, given that they have upcoming general elections.
“It exposes his political bile that he will take legitimate transactions of citizens of Trinidad and Tobago which are private, nothing done illegal, immoral, unethical to try and make people believe that this is something done unlawful,” he said.
Further, Gonsalves said his wife is Trinidadian and that his son and daughter are Trinidadians by descent.
With respect to his wife Eloise, Gonsalves noted that she is a successful fashion and interior designer who previously worked in Trinidad as a teacher after graduating from The UWI.
“I have never interacted with any member of the PNM Government or indeed with anyone in the State administration—the HDC—in relation to the purchase of any property. The connection which the gentleman tried to make with the PNM is entirely spurious,” he said.
Gonsalves said his wife followed the proper process in purchasing the property. He said she secured a mortgage and pays for it on a monthly basis.
“There is no sweetheart deal of any kind,” he said.
“Does anybody really think that I could approach Keith Rowley or any member of the PNM Government with anything so outrageous? It wouldn’t cross my mind to use a political influence, I had nothing to do with anything of these things,” he said.
He added that his wife’s mother, who is 97, lived in Dominica, which was devastated by a natural disaster, and she wanted to have an apartment in Trinidad because her two sons live in this country—a pilot and a High Court judge.
He said his wife and her family have deep ties and a long connection in Trinidad, noting that his father-in-law was a distinguished senior counsel.
Gonsalves said this was the driving factor behind his wife buying property in Trinidad.
“The gentleman made it appear as if Eloise had done something illegal, crooked, immoral, absolutely none of those things are true,” he said.
Gonsalves said his son Storm has a Trinidadian passport and would have applied to purchase an apartment in the same way.
“My daughter, a perfectly legitimate transaction again, nothing illegal, nothing immoral, not anything close to anything unethical,” he said, adding that he never even slept in any of these properties.
He said his daughter graduated from The UWI as a veterinary surgeon, is married to a Trinidadian, and has a child born in Trinidad.
He said further that she does not own the property, but it is under a lease-to-own arrangement, and he was uncertain of the terms.
He said further that Victoria Keyes is premium real estate and not low-cost housing, where there is a long waiting list.
He said Roberts’ video has afforded the opportunity to give an “honourable” explanation and that his wife will seek legal counsel on what she would do.
Gonsalves said he has been an activist for 57 years and that this year will be his 11th general election over a 46-year period, and the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines know that he is a person “steeped in advancing political hygiene”.
