Ex-NHDT chair denies corruption charges

(CNS): Geoffry William Ebanks, the former chair of the National Housing and Development Trust, will face trial next year for charges of corruption in relation to the removal of some 72 truckloads of fill and soil from the housing trust site in North Side to his father’s farm in January. Ebanks pleaded not guilty to one count of conflict of interest and one of breach of trust when he appeared in Grand Court on Friday. He was bailed to return in April for his trial, which is expected to last twelve weeks.

The scandal erupted in March this year when local residents contacted CNS about the movement of the soil and fill from the affordable housing site in the district. While questions were asked, no answers from officials were forthcoming. Nothing was revealed about the situation until June, when Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, while answering questions in parliament, told Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart that he could not reveal any information about what had happened to the soil and fill, which belonged to government, because the issue was under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Following that investigation, Ebanks was charged in October. He finally stepped down from his position on the board just a few days before the charges were laid.