“Totally baseless and unfounded.”
This was the response of San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello to allegations made by Oropouche MP Dr Roodal Moonilal that close relatives of sitting members of the San Fernando City Corporation were being paid salaries even though they were hardly ever seen working in the Corporation.
Moonilal alleged that the two students were attending university full-time but were on the SFCC payroll.
However, speaking to the media after the last sitting of the Council’s statutory meeting on Tuesday, Regrello denied the allegations.
He said he had a son attending university, but was never employed at the Corporation.
“I don’t know anything about that. I don’t know anybody here who have children in university who are getting paid. That is news to me. I was shocked when I heard it yesterday. I don’t know if he was talking about a previous administration. That never happened, not in our team,” he said.
He added, “ I have one son in university and he has never worked in his life. He is a pan player and that is what he does. He does not work, he too lazy. He not working anywhere. Councillor Soogrim has a daughter in university—she is not working here. My son in University took a year off and only started back last month. He has never worked here.”
Asked whether a senior administrative officer in the Corporation had children who were on the Corporation’s payroll, Regrello said, “ I have no evidence of that. I have never seen or heard of that. It is totally unfounded... baseless. Just like the claim for the $100,000 and the car park.”
He said it was disgraceful that Moonilal will drag people’s children into his false allegations.
Efforts to contact Moonilal for comment proved futile as calls to his cellular phone went unanswered.