Philipsburg: -- The island council meeting had to be adjourned twice yesterday morning so that the chairman can be provided with the speakers list while members of the island council had to be provided with documentation pertaining to the spending on the government administration building.
Just about midday yesterday the executive council provided the council members with a letter with the expenditures pertaining to the unfinished government administration building. So far the island government has spent on rent for the new building prior to civil servants moving in.
Those expenses include
RGM was paid a USD $16,270,000 for the realization of the base of the building,
BCC Naf.738, 108 for additional masonry work.
BCC partitions and ceilings Naf. 4,844,341
WEC for RGM buy works Naf.451,937
WEC for installation of data cables Naf. 1,299,600
WEC for additional installation and electrical and plumbing Naf 814,590
Penguin Air-conditioning for additional HV AC works Naf. 660,388
Penguin for Air conditioning for RGM buys out works Naf. 324,342
IMD for advisory fees (improvement public services ICT Naf. 244,589
ARCON for advisory fees (project management) Naf. 374,400
OKT/CEB for design review of the technical installations Naf. 78,434
OCT/CEB for advisory fees (electrical and plumbing Naf. 134,400
ICE for design review of the construction NAf. 37,500
ICE for design and engineering works Naf. 26, 800
Exeqtech forf project management Naf. 260, 548
Lievense Consulting Engineering for infrastructure design Naf. 73, 609
The above does not include Block d and therefore the Island territory has commissioned a team of architects and engineers to complete the design of Block D
Design Collaborative Associates for architecture (USD$ 206,250 Naf 371,250
ICE for structural engineering NAF. 93,500
CEB Engineering technical installations NAf. 144,295
IMD interior design and public service concept Naf. 300,100
Next step Consulting for ICT design Naf. 52,530
Exeqtech for project coordination (USD$55,000) Naf 99,000
In addition to the above the executive council has also recently approved an amount of Naf. 1,600,000 to be paid in additional work to BCC and WEC, Penguin as well as Exeqtech to bring the construction on of the building to a state of practical completion with the exclusion of the works that needs to be worked out.
The island government has also agreed to pay RGM rents which are to be paid on a quarterly basis to the amount of USD 481,000 to April 2009. The island government already made six such payments . The executive council also paid USD 344,640 to RGM was a compensatory purchase price for the building.
Marlin said in his address to the island council that it is a shame that the executive council does not have the final agreement with Marvin NV for the new building. He said to date the executive has not given an update as to how much monies they have been paid to Marvin and if in fact the present administration building has been transferred to the island government.
In relation to the new government building Marlin said from the time the proposal was brought to the floor of the island council there was several unanswered questions pertaining to the agreement with RGM. Marlin said the National Alliance had raised several questions pertaining to the agreement with RGM and they also made proposals to the executive council. He said the NA has maintained that government was going to get an empty shell and not a completed building from RGM since it was just the walls and the roof that was involved. Marlin said the present "White Elephant" is the most expensive pigeon coop throughout the Caribbean and the world that can be recorded in the Guinness Book of records. He said the reason he labeled the building as the ‘pigeon coop is because since last year civil servants were to move into the building which has not yet happened. He said each time they discuss the building is when Executive Council goes to the Island Council for more monies to invest in this project. He said it is time the executive council shed light on what is really taking place with new building.
Marlin said that Westin and the Government building started the same time and they are six times bigger yet that project have completed and is now operational. He said the government building started at least six months prior to Westin and yet government is struggling to completing their coop for the roosting their pigeons.
He said each time government approaches them they are saying they never realize a number of things. He said the government is operating as if they went a toy store to shop and its only when they reach the cashier they realize they did not have enough money. Marlin said government is not operating as a collective body instead each commissioner is looking for their baby project in which they make their deals.
The island council man said they have said from day one that the building is too small to accommodate the entire civil core. He said they had promised to save tax payers monies when they build this big building that is supposed to house all civil servants but that seems rather unlikely.
He said government is behaving reckless and it is a shame to see that members of the island council went to Canada and Trinidad to hold discussions pertaining to this building. Marlin said it time government do things right. He highlighted the unfinished projects around Philipsburg including the unfinished round about next to the Police Station and Festival Village.
He said based on rumors they have heard that RGM has now been bankrupt are supposedly the cause for the project not finished. Marlin said the executive council had pictured this project as a ‘win win' for everybody but with the current expenditures it is indeed the ‘lose lose project". He said all that is seen right now is bills that are piling up with no end in sight. He said the reason they brought this to the floor is because they need government to shed some more light and that there a several rumors. Those include that there is a dispute with contractors and sub-contractors and that money was not enough including RGM gone bankrupt. The NA leader also wants to know how government intends to lead the civil servants to the promise building.