The Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposes to spend $116 million to acquire five new properties for its diplomatic missions around the world. And, amid criticism that the Government does not spend enough money or attention maintaining state-owned buildings, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received an allocation of an additional $37.8 million to refurbish and renovate 13 of T&T's foreign diplomatic missions or residences as well as continuing the renovation of Knowsley, one of the Magnificent Seven houses around the Queen's Park Savannah.
The proposed expenditure of $116 million to acquire what is described as physical capital assets is contained in the document "Details of Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure," one of the 2010 budget documents which was laid in Parliament, before Finance Minister Karen Tesheira's presentation on Monday. The document reveals that the Government proposes to spend $69.5 million to purchase a property in Washington DC, $24.6 million to purchase a property in Toronto and $20 million to purchase a property in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where many of the institutions of the European Union are located. The document reveals that the Government allocated $28.8 million in the 2009 revised estimates to purchase the property in Brussels and $46.2 million in the 2009 financial year to acquire the property in Toronto.
The Government also proposes to purchase $1 million properties in South Africa and in Kingston, Jamaica, in the 2010 financial year.
While the Government is acquiring new properties for its foreign diplomatic missions, it also expects to spend millions of dollars on the renovation or refurbishment of T&T's diplomatic missions abroad and the headquarters of the Foreign Affairs Ministry at Queen's Park South, Knowsley, according to information contained in another document, "Draft Estimates of Development Programme for 2010." The expenditure will see eight existing missions being refurbished or renovated along with five new missions. Following is a list of the projects to be undertaken by the Foreign Affairs Ministry:
�2 Renovations to Knowsley Building–$18.9 million;
�2 Refurbishment of the chancery and embassy in Washington DC–$2.5 million;
�2 Refurbishment of properties in Washington DC–$500,000;
�2 Renovation of the New York residence for T&T's representative to the UN–$2 million;
�2 Refurbishment of the Consul General's residence in New York–$3 million;
�2 Structural renovation of chancery and residence in Ottawa–$1 million;
�2 Refurbishment of the residence of the First Secretary in Kingston–$500,000;
�2 Provision of a new residence for the High Commissioner in Kingston–$600,000;
�2 refurbishment of chancery and residence in Caracas–$800,000
Five new projects–
�2 the refurbishment of properties in Costa Rica;
�2 construction of High Commissioner's residence in Abuja, Nigeria;
�2 refurbishment of chancery and residence in Pretoria, South Africa;
�2 refurbishment of chancery and residence in Brussels, Belgium and
�2 refurbishment of residence in Geneva will cost an estimated $3 million.
The Diplomatic Academy, to be located in Port-of-Spain, is estimated to cost $5 million. Sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the establishment of a Diplomatic Academy "is a paramount step in the growth of the Foreign Service and a contributory factor to the achievement of developed country status by 2020." Meanwhile, the Government has allocated the sum of $2 million for establishment of the Equal Opportunities Commission and Equal Opportunities Tribunal in T&T. The commission is to hear and determine complaints of discrimination against citizens, while the tribunal will hear appeals to the ruling of the commission.