The dilapidated post-office building on state lands on Maraval Road, Port-of-Spain, has been demolished for the construction of a privately-owned casino car park. This was revealed in the House of Representatives yesterday by Opposition MP Patricia McIntosh.
She was contributing to debate on a bill to amend the TTPost Act to allow for the vesting of buildings now owned by TTPost. The legislation was presented by Public Utilities Minister Emmanuel George. The bill was later passed without any amendments.
McIntosh said she found out about the development on Thursday when she visited the nearby Newtown Boys' and Girls' RC School to distribute pencils to pupils who were about to write the Secondary Entrance Exam. "I was shocked (that) the post office was being demolished and was now part of the property that is a casino," Mc Intosh said.
"What! What!" Opposition MPs shouted. McIntosh continued: "It is nicely fenced, and you can pass now and see it. I said, 'No, I must be mistaken.'" She insisted: "State property, the people's property, is now the parking lot of the casino at the corner."
She said she wanted to know "who gave the permission? Was it sold? Was it leased? Who gave the permission for our land, our people's land, state lands, to be thus used?" Minutes later, Opposition MP and former works and transport minister Colm Imbert, in his contribution, said George should investigate and report on the matter before the debate was concluded yesterday.
"How on earth, a property that is to be vested in the postal corporation be converted into a car park for a private casino," Imbert said. He raised other questions:
• What procedures were used to allow access for this private casino for this state property?
• Was there a tender?
• Was it auctioned?
• Was it publicised?
• Is the State being compensated as a result?
Imbert said George was "not completely forthright with this Parliament. He has a lot of explaining to do." Imbert said George must release the valuation report of the more than 50 properties. Imbert said the Maraval Road property was valued at minimum $5 million.
He said that the average value of a building on the list was $3 million which meant the Government could get $150 million from the sale of those buildings. Responding to a claim by George that the measures must be implemented now to allow TTPost to borrow, Imbert said the corporation had been losing money since it began operating some 13 years ago.
George, in winding-up, dismissed claims by Imbert that he was permanent secretary in 2000 and had failed to complete the vesting of the buildings in TTPost. George said he was not the PS of the Public Utilities Ministry in 2000. Dealing with the 47 properties vested in TTPost, George said 18 were not occupied and were going to rot. "We have to stop that. We have to put these properties in the hands of a responsible agency."