National Alliance questions timing,
of government building expansion
PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) on Monday fiercely criticised government for its move to increase the price tag of the new Government Administration Building. The “opposition faction” also questioned the accuracy of the figures and the lack of local contractors at the project.
Councilman Frans Richardson suggested the construction of a smaller second Government Administration Building in Simpson Bay.
The Executive Council sought approval during Monday’s Island Council meeting for a change in the plans of the construction of the new Government Administration Building on Pond Island.
Questioning the proposal by government to drive piles for a fourth block and to create additional work space by turning the two-block interior parking lot into offices, Richardson said the smaller second administration building in Simpson Bay didn’t have to be big. “It can only provide simple services,” he said, adding that the second building would help alleviate the congestion in Philipsburg, which would only worsen with a large one-stop-shop government building in town.
This way, people don’t have to come over the hill, Richardson said. Simpson Bay, he said, already has most other services, including the police substation. His colleague Hyacinth Richardson said NA had proposed during a meeting in 2004 to build several buildings instead of one huge Government Administration Building.
Too much
NA Councilman William Marlin cast his doubt on whether at US $1.83 million government wasn’t paying too much for the expansion of the new administration building. He calculated that driving the piles for block D would cost roughly $300,000, at $4,000 per pile.
The developer RGM of Trinidad is constructing an “empty shell with a roof,” said Marlin for about $1,400 per m2. He said that the current rate for the construction of a completely finished building, furbished with walls and doors, was about $1,500. Marlin demanded clarity and a breakdown. Marlin said it would have been cheaper and more logical to drive the piles for block D at the same time the contractor was driving the piles for the other sections.
Hyacinth Richardson also doubted the accuracy of the figures.
Marlin and Frans Richardson, like their NA colleagues George Pantophlet and Hyacinth Richardson, criticised the Executive Council for coming with an amendment to the original plan at this late date, while construction is already ongoing and although government already knew when drafting the plans in 2003 that St. Maarten was seeking country status, which would mean additional personnel.
The four NA Councilmen wondered what excuse government would use the next time when presenting another proposal with an even higher price tag. They said government’s failing to plan was a plan to fail.
“I wonder what excuse we will get tomorrow,” said Frans Richardson. He said installing the necessary Information Technology (IT) in the new building would cost close to another NAf. 9 million, not the NAf. 4 million government is claiming it will cost.
Huge cost
Arguing that the new administration building involved a “tremendous” sum that was being paid by the taxpayer, NA suggested that government be very careful and clear when executing this project. The total project investment is $16.73 million, with an annual Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) fee of $1.83 million and a fixed one-time payment on completion of $344,640. The repayment term is 16 years.
Marlin said the people might only know the true cost of the project at the end of the construction. He accused the Executive Council of continuing on a borrowing spree while the island had signed an agreement with the Netherlands on November 2 that stipulated strict borrowing and financial conditions. Calling the Executive Council a “helter-skelter,” he said Commissioners were all doing their own thing.
The apparent lack of involvement of local contractors was raised by Hyacinth Richardson, along with Frans Richardson and Pantophlet. Frans Richardson said he was “deeply concerned” about the lack of local contractors in the project. “They too need a little piece of the action,” he said.
He said some of the names initially on the billboard were no longer on it. “They were kicked out. This government doesn’t care about its own. We are asked to approve more money, but for whom?” asked Richardson, adding that the money didn’t stay here, as only foreign companies were involved. “I have not heard one local contractor saying that he was proud to be involved.”
Pantophlet said he had heard bad stories from two local contractors. One was being squeezed out and the other had gone bankrupt.
Hyacinth Richardson asked how local contractors were supposed to feed their families when they were not getting work.
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