The audacity of the Government to claim kudos at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the much awaited roundabout in Maraval was soundly rebuked by the former Minister of Works, Colm Imbert. Imbert rightly reminded that he was the instigator of the project and stated that the PP Government merely finished it. Never mind that he was trying to execute it for over ten years, it was his brainchild. Maybe the ex-Minister of Works would like to claim the fame for some other iconic projects in this land of La Trinity.
We can go back to 1987 when the NAR was in power and audited a project in Maraval where a simple bridge over a tributary of the Maraval River had taken over 20 years to complete under the PNM. The NAR completed the bridge and when the audit was done it revealed that items such as glass sliding doors and widows were delivered to the project. Claim that for the PNM too, Colm! Then, the play on the gullibility of some of the citizens of this country when the PNM claimed that the NAR had worked obeah on the land and had installed a dragon on the roof of the Red House and Parliament.
The poor wind vane had been installed on the roof since the Red House was built. But what did the then Minister of Works do when the PNM came back into government? He commandeered a crane and replaced the dragon with a corbeau. How much did the corbeau and the lifting equipment cost? Claim that, Colm! For years, commuters going to and from Santa Rosa were accustomed to seeing some man-made mountains of aggregate on a portion of land that was supposed to complete the dualling of the highway.
The project was completed by the PP Government, but it was the brainchild of the ex-minister. The years of frustration and the thousands of lost man hours caused by traffic due to the delay in executing that project is irrelevant. It was a PNM project. Claim that, Colm! A ship named Su. A Toruba tsunami emergency centre. A 40-year-old Point Fortin highway. A Scarborough hospital. The first blimp that was a blooper. (Space limitations prevent me from completing this list.) Don't be modest, Colm, claim those for the PNM too!
V Lutchman
Maraval