Hail Lara Academy!

In cutting the ribbon on Friday night, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said years ago the country had promised to build and name a stadium in Lara’s honour.

In what must go down as one of the greatest understatements made in this country’s public procurement history, Rowley remarked, “We embarked upon that exercise. It did not go very smoothly but thank God with some showers of blessing tonight, this project is finished and we are about to begin with the first ball to be bowled in this venue.” “It did not go very smoothly” was perhaps a reference to the scandalous findings of the Uff Commission of Inquiry relating to apparent breaches by Udecott of public procurement rules and principles. That inquiry also saw an expert deem work done on the project, at an earlier stage, condemnable.

Though the academy may have an independent institutional existence from the sporting facility, in the mind of the public both will remain indistinguishable as they were initially packed by Udecott as being all a part of the same complex.

In 2010, the Commission of Inquiry found overpayment to contractors, a needlessly convoluted design, significant problems about the quality of work, and the baffling decision to continue a contract with Hafeez Karamath Limited.

“The award of the contracts, the management of those contracts, the payment terms including advanced payments and the conditions guaranteed to the contractor in return for agreement to complete the project at a fixed maximum price demonstrated clearly Udecott’s inability to plan and successfully manage a project of this magnitude,” the inquiry found.

An audit was recommended. And overall, it was recommended that the former board be subject to inquiry by law enforcement authorities.

However, it was further stated, “The citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, for whose benefit the project is being undertaken, should at some stage obtain some benefit from it.” After 2010, however, little progress was made over five years. Ostensibly there remained concerns over the findings of the McCaffrey report. Yet, in a bizarre twist, during the 2011 state of emergency, it was suggested by former housing and urban development minister Dr Roodal Moonilal that the premises be used as a temporary jail.

More recently, controversy still dogged the project when it was wrongly announced that Sachin Tendulkar would be attending last Friday’s opening and a stand would be named after him.

Despite all of this, we must welcome the opening of the academy if only because this project has the capacity to continue a trend of decentralization in sport and in community life in Trinidad. It takes sport to another part of the country, even if it is a reminder of the need for better planning and procurement practices in order to avoid cost overruns.

The academy joins the new velodrome and aquatic centre. We hope all these premises are properly maintained so that they can continue to be used in the long-run by both the local and international sporting community.

In relation to Tarouba, in addition to safety, an issue of International Cricket Council accreditation has been raised. This raises the possibility of further expenditure and it is hoped these costs can be avoided. If, however, they relate to the standards that are required for a safe, enjoyable sporting experience then they may be unavoidable. And this has always been the issue with public projects that have been subject to inefficiency and graft. The taxpayer tends to lose: once when the contract is given out at an inflated price and then when the project never comes to fruition, sinking like the steel beams of the Caroni Swamp.

In this instance we hope this project will benefit the people of this country. Let it be an academy we deserve.