Large sums of this country's patrimony have been spent on riotous living and those who are now in the Government and ready to embark on this grand expenditure were severely critical of the spending habits of the previous regime-and rightly so. Now as Government, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has to instruct her minister/s to account to the population before, during and after the fact on the spending of $500 million. The Government must also know that the media and everyone else interested in transparency and accountability are watching to ensure that this will not be a "jobs for the boys project" but that competence and equity have a central place in the allocation of expenditure.