Members of the BU household attended the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) meeting last night at Heroes Square. BU will provide a more detailed comment later. What can be stated is when all the huff and puff was done it must be said Mia Mottley did a good job prosecuting Minister Michael Lashley. Many questions were asked of Minister Lashley last night regarding the contract with JADA covering Coverley. The Leader of the Opposition distributed copies of National Housing Corporation minutes (the same minutes quoted from by Lashley in the House) which supports a good case the Minister Lashley lied while standing on the floor of the House of Assembly at its last sitting. He has also been asked to produce the construction contract referred to by sacked NHC Chairman Marilyn Rice-Bowen.
The other issues worth mentioning is the revelation by former Minister of Health Jerome Walcott that a decision was made by government last Tuesday to refurbish the QEH and jettison plans to build a new hospital. Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur remarked on how the OECS countries have placed CLICO under judicial management and have taken steps to prosecute parties to recover CLICO assets and also to protect CLICO property. He lamented the fact that Barbados has done nothing to date to protect CLICO policyholders.
Hopefully others who attended will fill the gaps.
National Housing Corporation Minutes at the centre of the debate – Pages: 1,2,3 and 4
110 responses to “Leader Of The Opposition Calls For The Resignation Of Minister of Housing Michael Lashley”
David it was a bombshell. I was personally stunned. I could not believe that Michael Lashley was guilty of doing such things to the disadvantage of the bajan public.
Few points I can remember. The minute sof teh NHC board cearly shows that the boar did express conern about the absenc eof the contract and some consternatio about the reques tfor stage payments, contrary to Lashley’s staged presentation in Parliament. There was more to that, but there were so many details.
Lashley and cabinet gave Jada a 99 year lease on 220,000 sq. ft of land at $100.00 per year and permission to contruct commercial units for rent without any provision for the bajan taxpayer & gov’t to share in the monies given that the land was provided at peppercorn rent. JADA RECEIVED A DISPROPRTIONATE AMOUNT OF BUSINESS FROM GOV’T not only at Coverley, but including Valery, Country towers, and three other places and now cverley. Jada alone stand to gain 100m in profit and 350m, overall cost of project. It is disgraceful.
Chris should not have been so fast to claim collective responsibility. He in dey too.
I will see what I can do to get some of those documents, I only got the Planning permission document.
http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/Contract-exists/
I have to get back to some of these details as well……cause I real sleepy besides……. But it looks to me that the Blue-eyed boy Lashes got some serious, serious lashes last night, and he’s got some serious explaining to do!!
I could not believe my ears on hearing all the details above and more.
WIV alias Hartley, this was no simple red tee-shirt roadside meeting as you stated. Mr. Stuart alias “Mr.Duffy”, (Owen’s new moniker for him) has been handed a virtual hot potatoe, hotter than boiling lava.
The Invalid Party, …(again, Owen’s description of the DLP…He said the closest thing he can compare the DLP to right now is, with respect, something worse than an invalid) according to Owen, DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS DOING, AND DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO!
If what Mia read lastnight is a true-true document, and it look so to me, Lashley told some serious bare-faced lies in parliament. The DLP will have a hard time surviving this.
That thing with the lease to JADA……WUH LOSS…… that thing with Mr.Robinson at Constant……WUH LOSS……All of Dem HOUSES that the Dems boast they built (actually only about 330 in nearly three years compared to their manifesto promise of 2000 per year) and not only most of them empty, cause the people who they were built for can’t afford them,…..but some people who received keys during one of those big time “handing-over-KEYS-FETES”….would you believe that they had to give back the keys to NHC?……WUH LOSS……Could that be true??
I coming back to this……muh head spinning!!
Before you BLP cats start to purr give the man his day in Court.
It does seem with Thompson away things are starting to unravel a bit. Owen Arthur referred to a speech made by CLR James in 1958 which painted the DLP as a one trick pony i.e. all roads led to Barrow. He stated the speech is on the Easter Caribbean Central Bank website. Will have to try and find it.
Cadogan and WIV will talk but the BLP never gave, sold or leased STATE lands to Jada or any other private entity. The DLP is literally giving the country away to interests that do not look like most Bajans, are not Bajans, do not care for Bajans. The DLP suspect that they are a one term administration so there is a mad rush to carve up the fatted calf now before it is taken from them. What is galling that they go on about being for the poor Black Bajan but their policy has always been to throw a few scraps to Bajans while handing over the “calf” to those they curse publically but actually genuflect to them privately.
Hi David, I don’t think Owen said that the CLR James speech is on the website of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
What he reported as being on the website was an update on how the individual territories in the Eastern Caribbean were each taking sensible and caring steps to protect their citizens from any possible fallout from the CLICO debacle. e.g. putting in place judicial management….. alternative health insurance arrangements and other measures to protect the peoples’ assets.
He was saying that in comparrison, the Barbados Government was anchored down with inertia and incompetence, since they appeared to be more concerned about CLICO’s welfare.
Thanks for the correction, obviously missed some of the speech.
Hi David,
I don’t think Owen said that the CLR James speech is on the website of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. What is on the website is an update regarding the efforts of the Eastern Caribbean Territories to safeguard the interests of their citizens, by putting in place strategies like judicial management, and arrangement of alternative health insurance, to counteract fallout from the CLICO debacle.
He was making a comparrison to the non-action of our Barbados Government who seem anchored down with inertia, and appear more concerned with the welfare of CLICO, than that of its citizens.
OOPS! Sorry for the repetition. My earlier message appeared to have disappeared, so I typed in another message.
FINANCIAL RAPE by two criminals, Lashes hold dem down and Berks perform the act. The principle of gov’t private sector/public sector contracts in housing is to provide housing at more reasonable prices for a specific category of person. When building for the poor, costs have to be lower, and this is where gov’t provides land, sometimes infrastructure and stipulates the price to make sure there is no GOUGING. In this Coverley debacle, gov’t hand dem the knife to get the gouging done good. Or gov’t builds for lower middle or middle class at a commercial profit to give gov’t back some money to build houses for poor people elesewhere.
WHAT IT IS LASHLEY GONE AND DO -he said he building houses for the poor, which end up being houses only the lower middle might or middle could afford, but should not buy, becuase it is a ripoff. House sold to the unsuspecting bajans at 400.00 per sq.ft while market prices are 250 – 300.00 per square foot. This ensured that the CONTRACTOR not gov’t got an unprecedented, UNCONSCIOUNABLE level of profit not achieved by anyother contractor, only to be made when you building on theWest Coast, for the rich and famous.
Charges were made that houses selling at Coverley were as much as $100.00 per square foot more expensive than comparable styled housing offered by NHC and Ideal Homes. A 850 sq. ft house on 1200 sq. ft of land was sold for 320,000.00 by Bjerkham & Lashley to Bajans while Ideal Homes built a 1200 sq. ft home on 3500 sq. feet and retailed at the same price. How do you account Mr. Lashley for screwing over Bajans in a gov’t project, waving keys and having a fete, so people did not smell the rape that was taking place. This means that the builder will gross in excess of 100,000.00 per unit and with 1026 houses to build will realise a profit in excess of $100,000,000.00 to $150,000,000.00. Total value of the project over 350,000,000.00. Given to one contractor Jada, Bjorn Bjerkham. These units cost in excess of $400.00 per sq. ft, which is $100.00 – 150.00 above current prices.
How do you reconcile it with your conscience, Mr. Lashley with what the DLP has stood for in this country for so many years.
I feel so betrayed, incompetence was bad enough, had me frothing at the mouth with anxiety, but this goes beyond everything. It calls for an investigation with the fraud squad,
public accounts committee, auditor general, anti-money laundering unit, Scotland yard….I don’t know what. SOMEBODY NEEDS TO GO TO PRISON FOR THIS.
What makes it worse a lease of 220,000 sq. ft for next kin to nutten to allow Bjorn to make such a massive level of profit at the taxpayer’s expense using gov’t land with no provision for sharing the commercial rents he will enjoy for the rest of his natural life.
This was done by a DEE LP gov’t, Jesus come fuh yuh world. How in the name of God this could be done to poor people.
It was also the violations of the regulations and the lies to parliament. Can you imagine, telling lies in parliament to the Speaker, the highest law making body of the land. When I heard the part of the speech and the What is the penalty for this?
David you have to get recording of the speeches because Bajans have to hear this for themselves. If I was not there myself, I would have felt that it was just rhetoric, but the documents and the tape of Lashley and the explanation. All this talk about corruption, corruption, corruption, my current reading of it is they were heralding the advent of their administration and warning us to make way.
You know what people were saying: wait so wuh bout the res tof dem, they wer ein it too; I can believe it, the DLP could do this; wha tis dis I hearinng. people wer honestly shocked. This matter has to be dealt with.
to all the BLP yard fowls check the nation news paper today and the see the contract that Mia said was never in place and the same Marilyn Rice Bowen say she cannot recall signing
BLP is on a witch hunt the Mr.Robinson who is threatening to take action against the government when infactthe same esataes who the government millions of dollars ,we all know it is a part of the BLP TACTICS TO TRY TO UNDERMINE THE GOVERMENT
To the DLPdo not be side track ,you did a good thing yesterday when you you increase the unemploment benefits from 26 weeks to 40 to help the unemployed cushion th blow in these hard economics times
Of course she would want Minister Lashley to resign, his stellar record in housing is a thorn in the side of the Barbados Labour Party.
DAVID it seems as though you are very easy to fool!
Rice-Bowen is the DLP’s problem. Did anyone else notice the words “pursuant to a contract”? If this is a reasonable contract to build houses then would that make a “memorandum of understanding” a reasonable contract to build a road and flyovers? The real yardfowl is Realist who is supporting the DLP against the people of Barbados!
In a parliamentary democracy, the role of the Opposition is to scrutinise the Government and hopefully force them to “come clean” on all matters of administration. The DEMs may want a one party state but they should think gain.
Mia and her bogus “documents”. What a laugh.
if i was mia mottley, i would be real worried this morning. because apart from the few yardfowls near the platform who jump up and clap but with no enthusiasm, the rest of the small crowd listened but as if they simply did not care. mia tried real hard but she could not get the people excited. the problem is the messenger — mia mottley. she could try as hard as she like but bajans dont want her. they not excited by her and she got to know why. i drive thru the meeting looking to see a real big crowd because the meeting was supposed to reveal big revelations. only the faithful bees and a few curious people came by. traffic passed through freely with no problem. that say something about the size of the crowd. mia say there is no agreement with clico but the nation this morning carry a story saying there is a agreement. What is interesting about this whole thing, though, is how fast the BLP rush to defend Rice Bowen. Was she a mole the BLP plant inside the DLP? Dont forget she nearly cross over to the BLP a few years ago. But who does take Marilyn seriously dont know her. She does get talk about and laugh at so bad in the grapevine, that I does feel sorry for she. the same BLP that defending she now had it for she years ago. they had a file on she and they did going to use it if she did run gainst Rommel Marshall. i sorry for all of them.
While the government is promoting a green economy, the houses at Coverley come equipped with heaters. Yes they are natural gas powered, but it is nonsensical to build single family housing units with yard space yet require residents to seek permission to erect a clothes line. Natural gas is a non-renewable no?
@sylvan
Agree that the crowd was a tad over moderate but reasonable for mid term.
BU will scan and update the minutes distributed last night later.
Nuff noise from both sides on the contract issue. From what I have read, there was indeed a financing contract and this was signed by Rice-Bowen. She said she could not remember signing one and challenged Lashley to produce it. It has now been produced so she needs to explain herself.
However there does not seem to be a written construction contract. The Board appears to have been uncomfortable with this but we will see what is revealed in the minutes when David posts them. I don’t think Lashley claimed there was a written construction contract, he just side-stepped the issue. I think any reasonable person would accept that a written contract should have been in place as early as possible even if in practice work often starts before the written contract is in place. Isn’t that a breach of government’s rules though?
Now on the question of the pricing of the houses built at Coverley, I have not seen anything about how much it cost to build the houses so I am not sure how Bajan Truth calculated how much profit JADA will make on them.
Having said that, the Minister of Housing should explain if his Ministry was comfortable with the selling prices of the houses and why. If the government promoted this as low cost housing then they have a lot of explaining to do, but if not, what is wrong with the government supporting housing for the middle class?
Miss Mottley’s accusations certainly raise more than the skeptical eyebrow about Lashley’s conduct in this whole sordid mess.
She made it absolutely clear that he failed to answer MR-B’s charge that there was no CONSTRUCTION contract existing for Constant. It is right there in the Minutes.
In short he LIED to Parliament.
A FINANCE contract is not the same breed of cat. Suppose the finance was being provided by a commercial bank and the builder was COW. How would the NHC ensure that COW stuck to his deliverables in the absence of a CONSTRUCTION contract. Complain to the bank?
Lashley must take us for fools.
This entire sorry saga also raises the question of the country’s continued exposure to CLICO. Can you imagine the NHC doing business with Trade Confirmers or the Bank of Credit & Commerce at the height of their troubles. This is yet another nail in the DLP/CLICO coffin.
And let us not forget that Freundel said he saw the evidence and believes Lashley.
Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.
P.S.
I hear that Hal Gollop has been retained by Lashley to provide legal advice during this debacle. Would explain why he is the one offering a legal opinion to the Nation about what looks like little more than a term sheet to me.
@Brutus
Lashley has some questions to answer, no doubt about it. His strategy to evade we must assume is a temporary one.
Points forgotten the political babble is the ability of a large company to mobilize projects in quick time. The has the effect of keeping large numbers employed.
There is the fact the NHC was known to be cash trapped. Recent financing has given the NHC some latitude to award contracts to small contractors.
We should not forget this government had to fire several bogus small contractors on the payroll of the former government.
Excellent points David, but those should be coming from the Minister. There is a letter in today’s Nation from Bob Verdun defending the Coverley project – why hasn’t the Minister been making these points? This government does not seem to think that they have a responsibility to inform the public – we seem to have to literally BEG for information. That is wrong!
Perhaps they have been advised by HH not to respond to criticisms from the BLP. This is fine, but they should still keep the public well informed.
Do you remember part of what took down the Sandiford administration? It was the lack of a PR strategy.
@ David
Is there nothing wrong with NHC borrowing from CLICO to pay CLICO to build houses?
On page 10 of the Barbados Labour Party newspaper, The Nation, is a letter written by BOB VERDUN which no doubt is causing Heartburn in Barbados Labour Party members, supporters and DAVID.
“BEES NEED TO BE STRAIGHT ON HOUSING”
(part 1)
“Blind partisan rage is making the Queen Bee and the semi-retired King Bee sound like raving FOOLS.
Mia Mottley and Owen Arthur need to recheck the decisions their Barbados Labour Party made with respect to Bjorn Bjerkhamm and his JADA company before making stinging accusations against the Democratic Labour Party(DLP) Government for its dealing with this construction giant.
Mr. Bjerkhamm monstrosity at Dover Beach was built on piblicly owned land, and it now deprives Bajans and visitors of having proper access to what was once a very popular local beach.
The hideous building ensures that the Government will never realise the value from its overshadowed and tarnished BLP-created Gem called Time Out At The Gap.”
End of part 1 other parts to follow.
In spite of what the Barbados Labour Party and DAVID want us to believe, Bajans do not have short memories.
@enuff
There is not enough info in the public domain, we need to hear more.
@David
Could you explain in layman terms what is the problem with this Coverly project?
@David,
Good question about NHC borrowing from Clico to pay Clico.
On the surface this would seem to achieve at least two things
– Clico gets to earns some interest and possibly finance charges on the project;
– the NHC bears the financial risk of the project and not Clico (for example if they can’t find buyers for the houses, or if it takes an unusually long time).
We would need to see the full contract(s) to be certain.
Also, does Clico General have the money or will the group now need to go and borrow it? The group’s uncertain financial position would likely have influenced the structure of the agreement.
@ David
The ‘contract’ in today’s Nation is clear to me.
poor MIA is catching at straws and poor Marliyn allowing them to use her
Bring Proof
[“I would like to ask the minister (Lashley) to share the contract with the public, because to the best of my knowledge I don’t recall signing a contract and to the best of my knowledge a contract was not executed,” Rice-Bowen told the DAILY NATION in an exclusive interview.
“I would like the minister (Lashley) to produce the document which he is saying that I have signed to support the fact that he is saying there is a contract in place. I stand by my statement that there isn’t a contract in place,” she said.
]
http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/rice-bowen-i-signed-no-contract/
THERE IS EVIDENCE OF A CONTRACT
THERE IS EVIDENCE of a finance contract being in place between CLICO and the National Housing Corporation (NHC) for the housing project at Constant, St George.
The DAILY NATION has been able to obtain a copy of a contract prepared on April 7, 2009, signed by CLICO International General Insurance Limited’s director Terrence Thornhill, and co-signed by NHC’s acting general manager Lanette Napoleon-Young and sacked chairman Marilyn Rice-Bowen on September 28, 2009.
http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/Contract-exists/
@Adrian
The Coverley issue has become politically toxic.
Albert Brandford did a reasonable write up in the Sunday Sun just gone.
The main issues seem to be about the haste with which JADA got TP approval. According to Mia it took 6 months.
There is the issue of JADA building these houses which are prefab and appear to have attracted token small contractors. At a time of recession the BLP is making hay of it.
Another issue is the fact this is a PPP where the government is alleged to have sold the land at 3$ to JADA and leased 220 thousand square feet at $100 per year (subject to correction_. These houses are starting at 280+ and geared to middle class and not those who the BLP believes is in most need.
There is the fact the NHC has agreed to a very restrictive covenant. (See Brandford’ article)
There are other issues which we can develop.
The broad masses and middle classes of people of Barbados must use these present controversies involving, on one side, the NHC, the Minister of Housing, the DLP Government, and some housing projects in which the NHC and Clico and Jada Construction are involved in, and involving, on the other side, the BLP in government, as more evidence as to why both the damned DLP and the blasted BLP MUST BE REMOVED from the parliament by the vast majority of voters in this country AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
So, while the DLP and the BLP seek to use over and over again these kinds of controversies as part of these sick demeaning political psychological games, they both like to play on the broad masses and middle classes of this country, these latter segments of people must surely DAMNEDLY realize that, FOR THESE DLP/BLP DOLTS, EVEN THOUGH THEY DONT SAY SO, these controversies and scandals are exactly what they are and what they purport to be are: sick demeaning political psychological games.
The fact that these ongoing controversies surrounding the NHC, are the latest in a series of controversies and scandals that have over the years surrounded certain projects and programs like the Hardwood Housing Factory Inc., the Kola Syrup program, the GEMS Project, the Dodds Prisons project, St. Joseph Hospital, CARSICOT, the way how Vic Johnson came by a certain amount of land in St. Lucy, plus many more, and too that have been – in their own respective ways – scandals and issues that were – at different times throughout the political history of Barbados – entirely melodramatized, manipulated and controlled by some mindless, power-hungry, attention-seeking political maniacs and fanatics within the DLP and the BLP, and using certain segments of the local mass media, to primarily create political anxieties and hysteria among our broad masses and middle classes of this country, leading to primarily VOTER RESTLESSNESS – but NEVER EVER LEADING TO any minister or party hack, nobody, no corporation, company having ever been brought to justice for any criminal or civil wrong-doing on their part in any of these scandals or affairs, does show the extent to which these two old ramshackled corrupt DLP/BLP factions perform these sick demeaning political psychological games, according to THEIR OWN RULES – rules that the broad masses and middle classes do NOT have a clue about.
To see many of the broad masses and middle classes of people being played on and being used ever so often, in such a sickening demeaning way – as political psychological game for the course – by document-wielding file-exposing political actors and political stuntmen and women of these two treacherous nefarious factions wrenches the heart out of the political body and soul of the PDC.
But, such politically sick maniacal scoundrels and knaves, know exactly how far to take their silly stupid games, and whom to go around them with.
Indeed, we do know of so many many people that the DLP/BLP cannot go and take these sick political joke games to.
For they are too learned and informed about this demeaning debauched type of DLP/BLP politics.
We in the PDC have learned this DLP/BLP thrash by the ear.
So, let us – the PDC -tell you that we have already heard a group of BLPites essentially theatricize the following at a particular previous political strategy meeting some months back about the catching and then making of a particular government minister into a political fall guy: ” Oh, yes”, says, the first male political idiot, who happens to be the most outspoken in the group, “why not let us bring a parliamentary no-confidence motion in a popular minister of this government for his grevious mishandling of some public contracts that fall under his portfolio?, the time is right, just for the politics of it though, to politically hurt him – any crimes the police or DPP will deal with, that is NOT our business right now, we are about politically embarassing the fool”.
“So, why not bring a no confidence motion in the government instead, which would be easy and would NOT involve targetting the whole government, so it would not seem that we have a personal vendetta going against the minister”, says another male political buffoon from the BLP.
“Cause, you know, in the final analysis, the Cabinet is entirely collective responsible for the minister’s policy actions and omissions, since they all agreed with them in the first place”, interjects the third BLP political viper – the first female contributor in the group, who continues by saying, “man look that will not work, cause the government has the majority in the House of Assembly any case and would win and we would lose”.
So, in comes the fourth BLP political nuisance with her own input, “so why not let us call for the resignation of the particular minister and done, or for the PM to fire the particular minister, any of these methods will be more effective in the minds of the people, because it would be anchored on proving he is telling lies against our representing the truth, and we have the documents to show too that we got from our people that we have embedded in the ministry, and we could circulate copies of these documents to the Nation, Advocate, and put them on the internet, BU, and dont forget that once we can get the people on our side and the momentum builds against the minister and government, we would have a better/ good shot at winnning the government as times goes by, and we would set up a commission of enquiry – once we win the government – to look into the matter, effectively ending the career of the minister”.
“Well good ideas”, adds a fifth BLP political clown, “let us do it that way.”
So, these major noetic strands in the aforegoing scenario have undoubtedly happened in their own real ways, and concerning all of those above mentioned scandals and controversies – Hardwood Housing Factory Inc. St. Joseph Hospital Affair, etc. And as such could equally apply to a group of DLPites in the opposition in government.
So, such a parody and the real realities of those scandals and affairs that we in the PDC and so many others in this country have seen involving the DLP’s and the BLP’s mismanagement and misrule of the political political programmatic affairs of the government of this country, are what we know will continue to happen in this country once these two jackass parties remain in the parliament of this country and of course are the furthest points these political jacko lantern DLP/BLP factions would have ever gone in their dealing with these otherwise serious and troubling matters.
Thus, for all the bull-shitting that they have done, they have NEVER EVER UP TO THIS POINT IN TIME pushed seriously for the introduction and enactment of modern, tough, biting INTEGRITY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION LEGISLATION in the legislative processes of this country, to deal with the infelicities and the wrong-doings and the wrongful omissions of their own political DLP/BLP clique and many others in the private and public sectors of this country, and to provide a basis for inspiring real confidence and trust by most of the entire people in the country in the carrying out of the institutional roles and functions of government and their relationships with the private sectors in Barbados and beyond.
THEY HAVE NEVER EVER UP TO THIS POINT IN TIME DONE SUCH, WHEN IT IS SO CLEAR THAT THEY COULD OR SHOULD HAVE DONE SO, BUT ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF TURNING THEIR BACKS ON ONE THE FUNDAMENTAL REASONS WHY THEY GET INTO GOVERNMENT, BUT NOT FOR THE SAKE OF TURNING THEIR BACKS ON THEIR OWN HISTORY OF CORRUPTION AND MALFEASANCE AND ON THEIR OWN ACCOMPLICES THEY HAVE NOT AND WILL NOT DO SO!!!!!
And the people must not wait on them either for INTEGRITY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION LEGISLATION, for while one controversy emerges now at this time, or emerged then in the past, there are many other infelicities and misappropriations of funds that are happening now/that happened then/ that are involving, or that long involved some of these same damn DLP/blasted BLP people and their cronies.
So, the fact that corruption and malfeasance is endemic in the private and private sectors of this country, means that the whole aegean stables must be clean entirely free from the DLP and BLP and their atrocious doings .
Just VOTE the DLP and the BLP to hell out of House of Assembly of the Parliament of this country!!!!
But, for a future PDC government that will make sure that strong effective INTEGRITY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION LEGISLATION is enacted in this country to deal with much graft and corruption in this country.
PDC
Inadvertence: the 5 th paragraph from bottom of the above PDC post, in the 6 th line of the paragraph – it should have been been: “BUT ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF…….” – and not “BUT NOT FOR THE SAKE OF…..”.
Thank You.
PDC
@ Carson and Brutus re. Bob Verdun Letter
Some thought will clarify this matter. Jada is a contractor negotiating the best deals for Jada. Gov’t has the responsibility to negotiate the best deals for Barbados. This letter would be a defence if Jada is a criminal or money-laundering operation, and therefore should not get any work at all but should be subject to prison. Any person giving them any work would be doing something questionable. What you have is Jada negotiating the best for Jada very well and gov’t doing the very best for Jada at the expense of Bajans.
The question is, did Jada get the bulk of gov’t work under the BLP to the virtual exclusion of small contractors; were they allowed to build houses for poor people at exorbitant rates; were they given 99 year-leases?
@David
So the BLP’S issue is
– Small contractors getting left out
– Houses to expensive?
Any other concerns?
-Marilyn said there was no contract.
-Lashley went to parliament and said there was.
-Marilyn went to the nationnews and said bring the proof.
-The Nationnews presented a financial contract that Mr. Lashley and Hal Gollop says is a contract.
The Bushman on Augst 20 said he is not impress
http://bajan.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/never-put-a-hungry-man-to-guard-a-pot-the-rice-bowen-national-housing-corporation-eruption/#comment-181194
What is a contract? This seems to be a recurring question.
By the way apparently Mohammed Nasser was to get the 288 houses approved by town planning to build at coverley. According to Ms. Mottley this was taken away from him by Lashley to be given to Jada. Now why?
@ Brutus
Contractor friends have told me and confirmed the building and selling costs for houses especially that for the lower end. Middle income housing selling costs are between 250 – 300 dollars per square foot. Also they prefabricate the sides so they can build in short order at lower cost, and this makes building costs 30% lower because of not having labour costs. So it does not generate many jobs.
We know that selling price is 288,000.00 divided by 600 sq. ft is over $400.00 per square foot.
Wait all of a sudden Mottley and the BLP is a friend to Nasser. Things getting real strange in Bimshire. We have rank BLP people leading prayer groups for the PM. and now this. Uh tell yuh!
David and the BU family as a public service I will submit a copy of the minutes of the NHC Board for Wednesday 30th, June 2010. Please read carefully paragraph 12 and 13 for your proof that no contract was in place between Clico and the NHC at the time Minister Lashley spoke in the House on Tuesday.
“BEES NEED TO BE STRAIGHT ON HOUSING”
by Bob Verdun
Part 2
“…….Mr. B.B. was also given favourable consideration by the Arthur-Mottley Government with respect to Port St. Charles.
This was followed by its ugly stepsister Port Ferdinand, which is impeding local fisherfolk and sea bathers in the limited public beach north of Port St. Charles.
I credit Prime Minister David Thompson with obtaining improvements to the latter project, after it had been approved by his predecessor and could not be stopped.
Mr. Arthur should be sure of his facts regarding his former ally’s project at Coverly.
As far as I can determine based on my 35 years of experience in marketing real estate, these are market-priced homes being offered in the range of $321 per square foot for high quality construction.
The prices would be higher if the National Housing Corporation(NHC) had not provided cheap land, and if town & Country Planning had not allowed higher density than usual.”
End of part 2.
By the time the Barbados Labour Party finish reading this all the Pepto Bismol in Barbados will be sold out.
Adrian Hinds you would need to know that what appeared in the Nation News front page this morning is not financial or finance contract but rather Term Sheet that outlines the terms and conditions under which the loan from Clico would be undertaken.
@Realist
Increasing the unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 40 weeks is nothing special. Anyone, even a Secondary School student studying CXC or GCE ordinary level Economics will learn that during a recession unemployment benefits and welfare payment tend to rise in times of falling national income with the accompanying unemployment and hardship. However, these transfer payments do not inject expenditure directly into the economy, their payment raises household disposable income. When household spend their receipts consumption expenditure rises. Therefore, Mr. Realist, in times of prolonged recessions, either the DLP or BLP would have implemented this policy. Do not beat up yuh chest on this one.
Bod Verdun was the proponent of a scheme to get Bajans to pool money and to buy a piece of land at bottom of University Drive. The land is still for sale and Bajans wisely avoided Verdun who (to put it mildly) seemed to be not “above board”. It is instructive that he should be a supporter of the DLP’s land dealings.
It is distressing that each political party should justify their malfeasance by pointing to the malfeasance of the other party.
In 2008 BU tried the same Bjerkham in the court of public opinion for the rape of the West Coast of Barbados. Today he is the saviour of the NHC (according to the DLP) and the supplier of choice of housing for low/middle income people!
Royalrumble | August 23, 2010 at 12:27 PM | Adrian Hinds you would need to know that what appeared in the Nation News front page this morning is not financial or finance contract but rather Term Sheet that outlines the terms and conditions under which the loan from Clico would be undertaken.
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So RR the word “contract” does not appear in the name of this nationnews reported document?? So what is the proper name for it???? The nationnews call it a Financial contract. What is it?
What does Marilyn, Mia and the BLP call the document that the Nationnews is referring to as a Financial contract?
What is a contract Mrs Rice Bowen? Lashley has produce what he refers to as such.
@Adrian
There is the matter of the lack of a construction contract between the NHC and CLICO. This is a different issue to Coverley. Minister Lashley supported by the Nation today has confirmed that there is a financial contract which was signed by Rice-Bowen.
What is clear the Opposition has decided to go after Lashley. What is also evident except to the political hacks is the poor PR from Lashley.