GOVT DEFENDS RED HOUSE MOVE

So said a government source yesterday as he sought to dispel claims that the PM’s ego was at the heart of the move to relocate the Parliament. "It is all part of a strategy to develop Port-of-Spain," the source stated.

The source said it was not true that the Government was giving more priority to the Red House restoration for the Prime Minister’s office, than to the construction of a new Parliament building. The source said in order to faciliate the construction of the new Parliament building, some preliminary steps were absolutely necessary. These were the completion of the construction of the new 22-storey Board of Inland Revenue Building to house the Inland Revenue Department and the refurbishment of the existing Inland Revenue Building (Trinidad House) to house the Magistrates’ Court. This will then allow the freeing of the designated new Parliament block for the construction of a modern purpose built Parliament structure. Sources said this preliminary step would of necessity take some time, time which with the temporary relocation of the Parliament staff would allow for the refurbishment of the Red House building.