Friday, June 10, 2011

Those who caused Tarouba stadium "headache" must be held accountable: Moonilal

Roodal Moonilal said Thursday persons responsible "headache" caused by the waste at the Brian Lara stadium must be held accountable.

The Housing Minister said the Attorney General is investigating the matter to ensure that the authorities deal with anyone who wasted taxpayers' money.

The Manning PNM Government started building the cricket stadium in 2005 with a budget of $275 million. So far expenditure on the project has cross $900 million and Moonilal estimates that if government decides to complete the stadium it will have to invest an additional $100 to $200 million on it.

The project was handled by UDeCOTT, which now falls within Moonilal's portfolio. UDeCOTT gave the contract to Hafeez Karamath Ltd (HKL)..

"We spent millions of dollars, this is irresponsible when we never got value for money and action must be taken to recover some of those monies," he said."There has been waste, mismanagement and corruption under the former regime."
commenting on his tour of the facility earlier this week Moonilal said, "My biggest alarm was..(the) waste of money because it is an outdoor bleacher type design which should not have cost more than $100 million. 

"In fact, it looks like an upgraded Skinner Park. The design work is poor, the dressing rooms are almost like a basement and because of the poor drainage there has already been repeat flooding," the minister said.

He added that the stadium was constructed on cane lands. He is asking the Forestry Division to see whether any kind of reforestation can be done to hold the soil together. If that is not an option, he said, the government would have to invest an additional $16 million to build retaining walls.

Moonilal former UDeCOTT executive chairman Calder Hart has much explaining to do. "I believe at the end of the day justice will be served," he said.

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Jai & Sero

Jai & Sero

Our family at home in Toronto 2008

Our family at home in Toronto 2008
Amit, Heather, Fuzz, Aj, Jiv, Shiva, Rampa, Sero, Jai