Parliament to be evicted

Parliament is to be evicted to make way for the Office of the Prime Minister.

Sunday Newsday has learnt that a firm decision has been taken by the Government that the historic site of the Parliament — the Red House — be earmarked for the Prime Minister’s office and that the Parliament should begin the search for a temporary building. A permanent home is to be constructed in the heart of the city as part of the “new city centre,” on the block occupied by the National Lotteries Board, Temple Court, National Security and the Magistrates’ Court among other buildings. Government sources stated last week that the plan would not involve the tearing down of the new Magistrates’ Court, on which some $38 million was spent.

Cabinet by Minute No 2739 of October 23 agreed “that the restored Red House be allocated to the Office of the Prime Minister with certain designated areas reserved for public access.” It also agreed that “interim arrangements for the continued functioning of Parliament and the comfort and safety of  its staff pending completion of the new Parliament building should be the subject of further discussions with the Clerk of the House, NIPDEC and the Ministry of Public Administration and Information,” with a view to making a submission to the House Committee of the House of Representatives.

Government sources told Sunday Newsday that it was felt once the Parliament remains in the Red House while it is being restored, the restoration process would  become more prolonged and far more costly. This, sources noted, was the rationale for the decision to move the Parliament before the new building is constructed. But Opposition sources yesterday expressed strong objection to the idea, saying that the Parliament should not be “thrown out” before the construction of its new home.  Sources said that while the natural order should be to house the Parliament first via the construction of the new building, the sequence suggested in the Cabinet directive was the opposite — that the priority was to fix the Red House to accommodate the Prime Minister’s office. It is understood that the matter is to be discussed by the UNC at its caucus meeting on Wednesday.

The Cabinet further agreed that the National Property Development Company Limited (NIPDEC) prepare a User Brief for the restored Red House and that the project team overseeing the restoration of the Red House be expanded to include representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Public Administra-tion and Information (Property and Real Estate Services Division). The Cabinet’s decision confirms that Government, which had gone silent on the Red House project, never gave up on the original plan which was first unveiled by the Prime Minister in 1992. In fact the Cabinet decision took note of the fact that a 1992 Report of the Port-of-Spain City Centre Redevelopment Project had put forward the view that the Red House be used to accommodate the Executive Branch of the Govern-ment, Office of the Prime Minister and that this would provide for a “symbolic juxtapostion of the three branches of Government, as it was envisaged that the proposed Red House block would continue to house the Legislative Branch of Government, with the Hall of Justice being the central facility of the judicial function.”

That PoS Redevelopment plan also stated that allowing the public access to certain designated areas of the Red House would help to preserve the historic character of the building and promote wider public participation in and support for the project. In 1992 as a member of the House Committee, Manning raised the issue, stating that there was a strong case for a new structure for the Parliament. At that time  at least one Opposition member, Ganga Singh, saw some merit in the proposal. But when the idea of a new Parliament building was put to the population in February 2003, there was a howl of protest from various stakeholders who argued strenuously against the idea of Parliament moving from the site it has occupied since its creation.

The Prime Minister received signatures from 46 distinguished persons, including former First Lady, Zalayhar Hassanali, urging  him to reconsider the proposal. Thirty million dollars was spent on refurbishing Whitehall under the UNC Government in order to make it suitable for the PM’s office. However Manning stated recently that the roof of the building was leaking and that he had to be “dodging” water whenever its rains. The Red House has housed the Legisative Council, the precursor to the Parliament, since the 19th century. On March 23rd 1903 while a new Ordinance regarding the distribution of and payment of water in Port-of-Spain was being debated in the Legislative Council Chamber, crowds on hearing that the bill had been passed, surrounded the building and set it on fire. The Red House was completely gutted. In May 1903, three British Commissioners were sent to Trinidad to conduct an enquiry into the Water Riot. As a result of their report, the legislature was opened up to those who formed the majority of the population. The 100th anniversary of the Water Riots was commemorated in March of this year.