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Main Points
Nearly 22,000 square feet of Monos Island waterfront land, $2,200 monthly rent and a 30-year lease signed just 25 days before the 2025 general election. LINK UP. SIGNED. SEALED. DELIVERED. A company co-owned by former Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited (TPHL) chairman Michael Quamina, SC, secured a 30-year lease for prime waterfront land at Turtle Bay, Monos Island, just weeks before the PNM lost the April 28, 2025 general election. According to an investigation by the Trinidad Guardian, by Sharlene Rampersad, the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) leased 21,942 square feet of coastal property for $2,200 monthly, with an additional annual service charge of 10% of the yearly rent. The agreement includes an option to renew for another 30 years, potentially extending the arrangement to six decades. THE TIMING: JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION The company, DDI Property Limited, was incorporated on February 21, 2025, with Quamina and businessman Arnim Kirt Ramsey listed as directors, shareholders and beneficial owners. The CDA affixed its seal on March 28, while the company sealed the agreement on April 3, 2025 — just 25 days before the election. Quamina was still chairman of state-owned TPHL at the time. He resigned on May 1, 2025. The transaction surfaced in Parliament on October 24, 2026, when Minister Saddam Hosein raised questions about the pre-election lease. THE PRICE: WATERFRONT FOR $2,200 For perspective, Guardian Media identified an advertised 19,442-square-foot beachfront parcel on Monos Island priced at $2.5 million. However, an advertised sale price is not directly comparable with a long-term lease, particularly where development restrictions and infrastructure limitations apply. Still, the public-interest question remains: Was $2,200 monthly fair market rent for nearly 22,000 square feet of waterfront property? QUAMINA RESPONDS: NO CONFLICT, NO WRONGDOING Quamina rejected suggestions that the agreement was rushed through before the election. He said the application began in June 2023, with an independent valuation conducted in 2024, long before the election date was announced. He also disputed claims that the transaction involved four lots, insisting the lease covers one surveyed parcel. On the potential conflict of interest, Quamina was emphatic: “Absolutely not, I am not CDA’s chairman.” He argued that TPHL and CDA were separate organisations and denied any breach of the Integrity in Public Life Act. Quamina confirmed that no clearing or construction had begun, describing the property as still covered in bush. THE BIGGER QUESTION The issue is not simply whether Quamina obtained a legally executed lease. It is whether the public received fair value, whether the approval process was transparent and whether the same opportunity was available to other applicants. The CDA and Minister Hosein had not responded to the Guardian’s follow-up questions at publication time. Signed before the election. Sealed for 30 years. The real question is whether taxpayers got a fair deal.
Nearly 22,000 square feet of Monos Island waterfront land, $2,200 monthly rent and a 30-year lease signed just 25 days before the 2025 general election.
LINK UP. SIGNED. SEALED. DELIVERED.
A company co-owned by former Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited (TPHL) chairman Michael Quamina, SC, secured a 30-year lease for prime waterfront land at Turtle Bay, Monos Island, just weeks before the PNM lost the April 28, 2025 general election.
According to an investigation by the Trinidad Guardian, by Sharlene Rampersad, the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) leased 21,942 square feet of coastal property for $2,200 monthly, with an additional annual service charge of 10% of the yearly rent.
The agreement includes an option to renew for another 30 years, potentially extending the arrangement to six decades.
THE TIMING: JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION
The company, DDI Property Limited, was incorporated on February 21, 2025, with Quamina and businessman Arnim Kirt Ramsey listed as directors, shareholders and beneficial owners.
The CDA affixed its seal on March 28, while the company sealed the agreement on April 3, 2025 — just 25 days before the election.
Quamina was still chairman of state-owned TPHL at the time. He resigned on May 1, 2025.
The transaction surfaced in Parliament on October 24, 2026, when Minister Saddam Hosein raised questions about the pre-election lease.
THE PRICE: WATERFRONT FOR $2,200
For perspective, Guardian Media identified an advertised 19,442-square-foot beachfront parcel on Monos Island priced at $2.5 million.
However, an advertised sale price is not directly comparable with a long-term lease, particularly where development restrictions and infrastructure limitations apply.
Still, the public-interest question remains: Was $2,200 monthly fair market rent for nearly 22,000 square feet of waterfront property?
QUAMINA RESPONDS: NO CONFLICT, NO WRONGDOING
Quamina rejected suggestions that the agreement was rushed through before the election.
He said the application began in June 2023, with an independent valuation conducted in 2024, long before the election date was announced.
He also disputed claims that the transaction involved four lots, insisting the lease covers one surveyed parcel.
On the potential conflict of interest, Quamina was emphatic:
“Absolutely not, I am not CDA’s chairman.”
He argued that TPHL and CDA were separate organisations and denied any breach of the Integrity in Public Life Act.
Quamina confirmed that no clearing or construction had begun, describing the property as still covered in bush.
THE BIGGER QUESTION
The issue is not simply whether Quamina obtained a legally executed lease. It is whether the public received fair value, whether the approval process was transparent and whether the same opportunity was available to other applicants.
The CDA and Minister Hosein had not responded to the Guardian’s follow-up questions at publication time.
Signed before the election. Sealed for 30 years. The real question is whether taxpayers got a fair deal.
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