Agriculture Ministry building an empty shell

THE ADMINISTRATIVE complex in Chaguanas earmarked to house the Ministry of Agriculture is a “facade” and “just an empty shell”, Finance Minister Colm Imbert has said.

Imbert made the statement on Friday night as the Standing Finance Committee reviewed the funds allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries at the Parliament Building, Tower D of the International Waterfront in Port of Spain.

He was at the time responding to a question from Member of Parliament for Naparima Rodney Charles about the $1.9 million allocated to the Agriculture Ministry for “Rent/Lease Office Accommodation or Storage”.

“The question is in the context that we have left an excellent office complex for you in Chaguanas and your stated intention to move to that building. Would it not make sense as a cost saving device to house this item, this accommodation item in that excellent facility which we left?” Charles asked.

Imbert said the building was one of many empty shells left by the People's Partnership administration.

“There will be contractual obligations which would have been entered into by the former administration, there will be rental of offices in various places and therefore this all needs to be rationalised during 2016 and this is why the Ministry of Finance has given them an allocation of $1.9 million.

“Surely and certainly if the move to Chaguanas can be done quickly and efficiently then there would be a saving here but I must say the former government opened a lot of buildings but they were just shells, empty shells, there was nothing in them.

“They were just a facade, when you go behind all you see is concrete and steel. So we don't really know how soon it will be possible for the Minister to move into the building in Chaguanas and that is specific to that building which is just an empty shell,” Imbert said.

Taken from Trinidad Express