KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Nov 12, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Wednesday dismissed as “political rant” statements made by a junior Trinidad and Tobago government minister that his wife and children had been given preferential treatment in obtaining government-subsidised housing in the twin-island republic.
“Everybody knows that he is carrying a can for the opposition here in St. Vincent. That’s the reason for his broadcast, his podcast or whatever you may call it,” Gonsalves said, noting that the allegation made by the minister in the Ministry of Housing in Trinidad, Anil Roberts, is that his wife and two children “had benefitted from a kind of insider trading…in purchasing apartments in a development in Trinidad…
“He made several mis-representations and falsehoods and he drew certain conclusions and presented many innuendoes which touch and concern on the issue of damaging people’s character and defamation generally,” Gonsalves said during 30 minute segment on his weekly radio programme in which he dealt with the issue and referring to his wife and children “as three citizens of Trinidad and Tobago”.
On Tuesday, Roberts acknowledged in his broadcast that Eloise Gonsalves and her children, Storm and Soleil Gonsalves, had been allocated the apartments even as over 200,000 residents of the twin island republic are on a waiting list.
(Details in Politics section)
CMC/2025