Southern discomfort

The stadium at Tarouba featured heavily in the Uff Commission of Inquiry, and we are all familiar with the problems which were recorded there — at least up to the time of the Commission’s Report. Since the report was submitted we have heard very little, as both Udecott and the contractors have said nothing, except to advise that completion is pending. We are not even sure who are the contractors — if any — currently working on the project. We have had reports of ferocious dogs keeping people off the compound and of Chinese workers on the project. Why the Chinese workers came in has never been explained, for we have no recent information of local contractors being terminated and new contracts awarded.

However, these are essentially side issues to the need to complete and put the facility into use, now more than three years since it was required to be handed over. Minister with responsibility for Udecott, Senator Mary King is assuring us that the current figure of $879 million plus VAT is “guaranteed” to complete the facility. However, a completion date has not been announced, and in the absence of this, and indeed in the absence of any apparent contractor in charge, the cost could well increase with the increasing time span.

The Chancery Lane Complex seems to have lost its main contractor as well. Senator King announced that the contractor has “left the site.” How could this happen, no one has explained. A contractor cannot just “leave” a site, or at least should not be able to do so. But this seems to be the trend recently, for Shanghai Construction also just “left” the site of the Lighthouse Church in Guanapo. Did Udecott allow the contractor to “leave” with all their plant and equipment, or did the contractor abandon all of that when they abandoned the job? Was a Performance Bond in place to allow Udecott to access money to complete the works with a new contractor?

There is already a $194 million cost overrun on the building which should have been completed for $296 million, and Senator King advises that “we are looking at another few hundred million to complete it.” Of course, they cannot abandon the project, but we wonder what alternatives the government has in mind. We are not told what is the percentage completion at this time, but several hundred million indicates that completion is not imminent.

The Performing Arts Academy apparently is another expensive monument to Manning’s ego. It is promised for completion in January 2011, but we take such promises now with a grain of salt. A massive, expensive structure to accommodate only 810 persons is another shame on the outgoing administration.

The new government will have its work cut out in trying to complete all of these structures, and again in trying to get them to function for what they were intended. At least they can feel reasonably secure that the opposition cannot attack them for the state or the non-functioning of these facilities. Opposition Leader Keith Rowley was loud in his criticisms of these buildings and of the Udecott which foisted them upon us. He can only now express sympathy to the new government holding the bag!