MANNING WANTS MONUMENT TO HIMSELF

PRIME Minister Patrick Manning has been accused of wanting to build a monument before he leaves office. This was the view of two irate business owners in response to Cabinet’s decision to relocate Parliament from the historic Red House site to a new and larger building north of Knox Street.

Minister of Public Administration Dr Lenny Saith made the announcement Thursday and immediately came in for a barrage of objections from several critics of the idea. Saith had told the media after Cabinet on Thursday that the block identified for the Parliament would encompass Knox Street, St Vincent Street, Abercromby Street and Duke Street. Saith added that UDECOTT has been mandated to be the executing agency and the company would begin immediatelty to acquire the four or five properties needed to take full control of the block. As a consequence of the latest development, several business places stand to be affected.

On Abercromby Street are the Temple Court, the Ministry of National Security, Justia Omnibus Chambers and the Evans Mundy building. Business and office places on Duke Street are the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB), a Dental Lab, the office of attorney Kenneth Munroe-Brown, and Chase Bargain Store and Tailoring. The Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court takes up the entire St Vincent Street from the corner of Duke Street to Knox Street, while on Knox Street itself is the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment Headquarters. Yesterday Kelvin Chase, owner of Chase Bargain Store and Tailoring, described the move as political, a waste of money, high-handed and unfair to all the people who would be affected. Wondering what the motive was behind the move, Chase said he has been at the location since 1946 and has five tenants. He enquired if the Government had taken into consideration what they were doing to people’s livelihood. “They (Government) have money and can do anything, and we will have to take whatever they dish out to us,” Chase said. He subsequently advised Manning and his Government to go to Richmond and Queen Streets where he said there is a lot of land not being used. He also suggested that the Red House (records department) be added on to the new Library building.

“Manning has his own agenda, and is probably trying to make a monument and name for himself before he leaves,” Chase told Newsday. He admitted that the move had been mentioned some time ago, but that it was turned down in the days of the country’s first Prime Minister, Eric Williams. Supporting Chase is Senior Counsel Israel Khan, head of Justia Omnibus Chambers and director of the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority. “The Prime Minister wants to build a monument in recognition of legacy, but he could build it elsewhere,” Khan said. The senior attorney added that he has now settled at his location and that the Cabinet decision will disrupt him and six other lawyers who share the chambers. Khan said the spot is a “prized possession” for lawyers since it is opposite the Hall of Justice. “From Colonial times to now, the Red House has been known as the house of Parliament,” he said, adding that supporters of the ruling party will be upset at the decision to relocate it. Khan said that the Government was giving the impression that it wants to “mash up” everything, but that they (Government) will really have to entice all the owners before they are relocated. “They have to offer us Government land near the Hall of Justice and some money too,” Khan said.

The Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court is the largest building that will be affected, and Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls said yesterday that he “totally supported” all that Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma has said on the matter. Hours after the Cabinet decision was made, Sharma said he was surprised at the announcement and that common courtesy demanded consultation between the Judiciary and the Executive.  NLCB’s marketing and public relations officer, Devant Maharaj said the decision was not a new one, and that the block had been earmarked for Government purposes for over ten years. “We are not shocked, because we were aware of it,” Maharaj said. A senior Army official said that the decision is nothing new to them.“We move all the time anyway,” the official added, pointing out that the Knox Street location was a temporary one in any event, and that they were in the process of moving.