Cuckoo courthouse

THE ‘NEW WING’ of the Magistrates’ Court on St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, may have established its own special claim to fame. Without a doubt, it will go down in history as the most absurd building project ever undertaken by the State and paid for by taxpayers’ money. From its very conception it seems, the “wing” situated at the corner of St Vincent and Duke Streets was one that flew into the cuckoo’s nest. We will forgive readers who find it laughable, because here is a building about which, it appears, nothing ever went right. If a group of lunatics from St Ann’s had been given the job of designing and building this court house they could hardly have done “a better job” than the edifice we now have.

Such is the extent of this absurdity that even after the additional sum of $5 million was spent to remedy its gross deficiencies, to reshape the building closer to what sanity would dictate, the sorry saga continues. Yesterday, Chief Magistrate Sherman NcNicolls had to shut down all the nine magistrates’ courts when it was discovered that a water pipe in the basement wall had burst, flooding the generator room and threatening the electrical system.  Actually, the building’s water supply had collapsed since Friday; the public toilets could not be flushed, no prisoners were brought to court this week and all their cases had to be adjourned.

The plumbing contractors employed by NIPDEC, who are responsible for constructing the wing, have been called in and hopefully they would be able to complete repairs in time for a resumption of court on Monday. How could such a relatively simple project turn out so badly askew? The question may well deserve an investigation. To begin with, it took more than three years to construct the new wing and, after former CJ de Labastide refused to accept the keys because he found the building totally unsuitable, another two and a half years and $5 million more were spent on its “refurbishment.”  It seems unbelievable but, after all that time and money, the court house wing was built without cells for prisoners and no rooms designed for the purposes of a court! In opening the new Law Term about two weeks ago, CJ Sat Sharma threw some light on this madhatters project. The fundamental errors and blunders, he said, resulted from NIPDEC’s failure to consult with the judiciary. “The original designs of the building showed complete ignorance or indifference to the special needs and requirements of a court building,” he noted. Even the new furniture was destroyed or disfigured by workmen engaged in the refurbishment.

“The excessive cost overruns, the inordinate delays, the failure to consult with the judiciary, the improper planning, the lack of daily supervision of workers and the reckless disregard and disrespect for public property together with the failure to meet promised deadlines have all contributed to the colossal disaster that the refurbishment turned out to be.” According to the CJ, the wing is still in “a highly unsatisfactory condition,” but the Judiciary took possession on obtaining a written undertaking from the Attorney General that her ministry will provide the funds to complete the job by workmen employed by the Judiciary. Should not somebody in NIPDEC be held responsible for this cuckoo court house?