Out of line, out of bounds and out of place!
That’s how former speaker Wade Mark yesterday summed up Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s move to take charge of restoration works on the historical Red House building.
Mark was joined yesterday by Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal who described Rowley’s move as “an attempt by the PM to micro-manage multi-billion dollar construction projects. This approach has inherent dangers when a PM gets his hands in such matters.”
A release from the Office of the Prime Minister on Friday stated that Rowley will chair a restoration committee established to oversee restoration of the Red House, President’s House, Stollmeyer’s Castle, Whitehall and Mille Fleurs.
The committee, comprising Finance Minister Colm Imbert, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, also decided to abort the existing tender exercise of the Red House in the light of changes made.
The release stated that a number of decisions were made with respect to the Red House’s scope of works. Construction of additional parliamentary space (the Parliamentary Complex), which would have been catered for in any new construction, will instead be accommodated at Cabildo Building.
The formation of the committee came days after chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of T&T Noel Garcia in an article in last week’s Sunday Guardian estimated the cost of the Red House project at $340 to $400 million, to be completed in 2018.
Construction of the complex, exclusive of outfitting costs and Value Added Tax, was estimated at $346.1 million without contingency.
In response to the new decision, Mark said Parliament was an independent arm of the State which could not be dictated to.
“My position to Rowley is to take his hands off the Red House. You cannot come like a big jefe or big czar as a Prime Minister and tell Parliament what and what not to do. If he does not learn fast he will learn soon. He must know that he cannot do what he is doing.”
Mark said former prime minister Patrick Manning discovered to his own peril that he could not move the prime minister’s office to the Red House.
“You cannot change the scope of work on Parliament, and even if you want to do that it must be done properly. What I am calling for is an immediate establishment of a Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Parliamentary Accommodation, as was done under the last administration. If they want to change the scope of work they must bring that to the JSC. No prime minister could tell us how to run the affairs of Parliament.”
Mark said in 2010, a Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Parliamentary Accommodation was established under the chairmanship of former minister Stephen Cadiz, of which Rowley was a member.
In 2012, the JSC compiled a report which showed that restoration work on the Red House, inclusive of construction cost, was estimated at $241 million.
The Parliamentary Complex was projected to cost $205 million, inclusive of preliminary site works, Mark said.
“This Government is on a rampage. They are undermining independent institutions. Now they are trying to hijack the Parliament. I am not going to let Rowley, Imbert and Al-Rawi mamaguay and fool this country. If Rowley has problems with money the proper approach is to come through the proper parliamentary channel.”
Yesterday, Imbert said he could not answer questions that fell under Udecott’s purview.
Garcia and Rowley yesterday failed to respond to text messages sent to their cellphones.