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Denis Kellman: Question Time About the GROTTO High Rise Project NOT Potholes

16. The NHC has indicated that housing units for lower income earners should be provided at a cost of $125,000 to $195,000. However, the construction costs of these high rise unit s ranged between $300,000 and $450,000 per unit. Even though all the units were built within the agreed time frame, the high cost per…

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The GROTTO high rise project
The GROTTO high rise project

16. The NHC has indicated that housing units for lower income earners should be provided at a cost of $125,000 to $195,000. However, the construction costs of these high rise unit s ranged between $300,000 and $450,000 per unit. Even though all the units were built within the agreed time frame, the high cost per unit obtained within these projects would have impacted negatively on the NHC being able to provide these units to lower income earners without substantial subsidisation – Special Audit by Auditor General 2016

The ranting of Minister of Housing Denis Kellman has crowed the news cycle this week so far. Based on BU’s unscientific poll the majority of Barbadians have dismissed his Facebook status post as ignorant. Surely Kellman has adopted a ‘strategy’ to deflect attention from his ministry by depositing several controversial status posts on Facebook. Is it wishful thinking to expect Prime Minister Freundel Stuart to take a leaf out of President Grainger’s book who is expected to reshuffle his cabinet today explaining that one of the ministers had become a distraction for the government.

It is interesting to note also a few of Kellman’s cabinet colleagues Donville Inniss and Michael Lashley -who were interviewed by Stetson Babb of Starcom Network -distanced themselves from the Kellman brouhaha. A month ago it was the turn of Donville Inniss to be snubbed by cabinet colleague Boyce regarding his view on how the South Coast Sewage mess was being handled by government (What is going on!).

BU is of the few the real story not covered by the traditional media relates to a comment made by Minister of Housing during the can potholes save lifes exchanges -that it is the low income tenant that qualifies the GROTTO Housing high-rise as a low income housing project.

Kellman's FB comment about the GROTTO project
Kellman’s FB comment about the GROTTO project

His view is interesting given the findings of the Auditor General’s Special Audit linked above. Further, in several exchanges with David King of BU (click on FB screen grab) the minister refused to communicate the type of tenant – low or middle income – contracted to occupy GROTTO apartments. If one applies logic based on NHC policy quoted in the 2016 Auditor General Special Audit Report the GROTTO does not qualify as a low income project. It will be very interesting to hear Minster Denis Kellman speak to the GROTTO, a project that falls under is portfolio. Maybe one day soon he will make a status post on Facebook to update the public about the GROTTO housing project.

The public has also not been apprised of the details around how a 25 million dollar dividend was paid to Maloney of Preconco from the Housing Credit Fund (HCF) managed by the Central Bank of Barbados.

Question time Minister Kellman about the GROTTO!

86 responses to “Denis Kellman: Question Time About the GROTTO High Rise Project NOT Potholes”

  1. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    The Dems will no doubt believe the report,the Bees will doubt its authenticity and let’s hope and pray the 40% who did not vote in 2013,all have their thinking caps on and remember the lowdown 5 million dollar bribe supposedly deposited in his mother’s account,that his brother went to a newspaper to report after the mother died without a will and he too felt he should get his cut after lowdown said …..no way brudder man…..all is mine,all is mine.

  2. Tell me Why Avatar
    Tell me Why

    Transparency International surely not transparent after all. Why highlight data up to 2014 and refuse to update the latest 2015 data It seems the official supplier of such data probably wearing a Belleville political hat. Nice.

  3. HAMILTON A HILL Avatar
    HAMILTON A HILL

    This is January and the official kite flying period begins in April. Why are we taking even a passing interest in a ”Singing Angel” kite being flown by Transparency International? Why a Singing Angel you may ask? Short answer is this. It full of bull…. a good time to ignore the nuisance that noise pollution is.

  4. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    SSS……It will come out in the wash.

    Charkes…asking for proof is so yesteryear, you keep waiting fpr proof until the next shitbomb hits, floods all the streets from coast to coast and the beaches…..

    …..,or the next Maloney, Cow, Bizzy, Bjerkham, Tempro Harris, Parris scam empties the treasury completely and finally, aided by semiliterate government ministers….. then there will no longer be need to ask for proof, you will be lining up to ask for bread to est and have no toilet paper to wipe ya ass instead.

  5. Bright Red Cherry Avatar
    Bright Red Cherry

    Harold, the foundation underpinning option for Grotto has been determined to be unfeasible? I was told that NHC has a Canadian company come to advise on options to prevent the sinking, did that not bear fruit?

  6. Bright Red Cherry Avatar
    Bright Red Cherry

    When movement is, or is likely to become excessive, so that the use or safety of the building is compromised, then underpinning may be a solution. It is usually achieved by digging underneath shallow footings and pouring concrete to extend the reach of the foundations down to a stable stratum. Other forms of underpinning include piles (column-like foundations). In some circumstances, pressure grouting (the use of a fluid cement to consolidate the ground itself) provides an alternative to underpinning.

  7. David Avatar
    David

    @Bright Red Cherry

    Are you spouting hot air or is there a problem with the foundation. This is a serious comment -you need to put up or shut up on this one.

  8. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    David

    I would like to know if the foundation story is fake or real,bearing in mind that britton hill is just around the corner so to speak.

  9. David Avatar
    David

    @Vincent

    Hence the reason the commenter was asked to put up or shut up.

  10. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    David

    The income of persons selected to live at the Grotto will determine if the units are “low income” not the constructions costs; hence why the value for money argument is valid. Note Kellman’s response if yuh doubt me.

  11. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    All the more reason why the government should have manged the cost of the GROTTO. Compare the sq ft cost to a mansion in Sandy Lane for example.

  12. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Vincent Haynes January 5, 2017 at 3:30 PM
    “I would like to know if the foundation story is fake or real,bearing in mind that britton hill is just around the corner so to speak.”

    Greetings, Vincent for the New Year. A Sun is reborn in the North. May HE smile on you and bless you with good health.

    The answer to the riddle ‘lies’ in the name given to the property by the owners of yore.

    Local knowledge can be, sometimes, a dangerously informative thing to possess.

    “Grotto” has more hidden in its cavern than just $25 million in pure ‘steal’ in there.

    Check the meaning of the Italian word “Grotta” and in true ‘symbologist’ style tell the BU audience what it stands for in “Inglese”.

  13. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    And that is exactly my point–pure corruption!!

  14. vincent haynes Avatar
    vincent haynes

    Miller

    The same to you and yours.

    On point with Grotto,furthermore a geological map of the area confirms its swiss cheese structure.

  15. Frothy Mouth Avatar
    Frothy Mouth

    When you see a man selling handkerchiefs and still sweating profusely in traffic, it tells you that possession is not the same as ownership! Your life belongs to God; you are only having it but you don’t own it. So, be careful what you do with your life before the owner asks for it.
    The last wishes of Alexander the Great………
    On his death bed, Alexander summoned his army generals and told them his three ultimate wishes:
    1. The best doctors should carry his coffin …
    2. The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery …
    3. His hands should be let loose, so they hang outside the coffin for all to see !!
    One of his generals who was surprised by these unusual requests asked Alexander to explain .
    Here is what Alexander the Great had to say :
    1. “I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that in the face of death , even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal ..”
    2. “I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth , will stay on earth..”
    3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted, and that is : TIME.
    We do not take to our grave any material wealth. TIME is our most precious treasure because it is LIMITED. We can produce more wealth, but we cannot produce more time.
    When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back . Our time is our life !.
    The best present that you can give to your family is your time and to God is your life..

  16. nineofnine Avatar
    nineofnine

    http://dictionary.reverso.net/italian-english/grotto

    fiddle the riddle… insurance x assurance x time.

  17. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ David and Bush Tea,

    Dennis Kellman is being supported by his boss.

    https://www.barbadostoday.bb/2017/01/06/forget-about-potholes/

    Somebody help Barbados.

  18. David Avatar
    David

    No words.

  19. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    ” revised ” slogan I recommend to the BTMI.

    BARBADOS….. POTHOLES……JUST AN INCONVENIENCE OF LIFE

  20. David Avatar
    David

    https://www.facebook.com/BarbadosToday/videos/10154412837478191/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

  21. Violet C Beckles Avatar
    Violet C Beckles

    You all waste time asking a crook questions ? all you will get is lies, Kick backed money and fraud, We still love to see the title deed they working with? Who they paid for the land from the start ( owner)and who did the money went to, It seem more land laundering into the hands of NHC and washed in the Central Banks, builders and Ministers, Was Lawyer Lashley the one the building was build under,? Remember they take turns moving land and switching, under Minister post. When the music stop, who will be left holding the bag of fraud, Poor Kellman they use him like a bloody rag, But not to feel sorry for crooks who are even more a fool. FOCUS ON THE LAND HISTORY TO SEE THE FRAUD, DONT GET TIED UP IN LONG TALK , WHEN IT START BAD IT HAVE TO END WORSE, CAN YOU NOT SEE? YOU POSTING ABOUT FRAUD AND STILL DONT WANT TO CALL IT WHAT IT IS, WELCOME TO LONG TALKING BARBADOS . RIGHT BEHIND THE NATION AND CBC IN BULL,

  22. John Avatar
    John

    Read the Senn report from 1946 on the Salinity of wells in the Crist Church south Catchment Area. … Public Library

    Pages 41 and 51 speak of a well at Chelsea Garage the exact location of which I have never been able to determine.

    It looks from the map as though it was just north of Chelsea Road but have never figured out its exact location. It is somewhere between Beckles Road and Chelsea Road.

    What the report says is that the salinity of the well is high “….. which is caused by a cavern through which seawater easily penetrates inland.”

    It is compared with wells close by which are found to have had low salinity levels.

    Its salinity was 85 parts compared with 16.2 parts at the St. Michael’s Infirmary (guess that is now the Geriatric Hospital) just 39 yards away.

    Bedford Lodge just 82 yards away had a salinity of 11.2 parts. I also never determined the exact location of Bedford Lodge.

    The story of the foundations of the buildings at the Grotto intrigues me as I started looking at the lay of the land in the area after Arch Cot seems like an eternity ago but probably only a decade or so.

    Government should have a geologist look at the limestone in the area.

    I can’t imagine the buildings were erected without a Ground Penetrating Radar study given what is known from the Senn Report of 1946.

  23. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    I can’t imagine the buildings were erected without a Ground Penetrating Radar study given what is known from the Senn Report of 1946.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Boss, then you must be from Mars….

  24. John Avatar
    John

    Further inland at Brittons Hill there was a small cave in back in 2011, a few years after Arch Cot, this happened.

    Arch Cot and this other example are on the cliff above the Grotto

    If you look from the entrance to the NUPW property towards the Grotto you will see what we call a watercourse or bottom which suggests there may at one time a long time ago, have been a cave in here.

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/36197/danger-hole

    This is the nature of the island on which we live.

    I wouldn’t say was an inconvenience of life as that phrase has been coined by no less a person than the PM in relation to potholes, but I would say it is not an unknown occurrence and has been known in the past to actually kill people.

  25. nineofnine Avatar
    nineofnine

    Are there any geological survey maps of known caves in Barbados?… If they are, please can you post the links here?

    http://www.geraceresearchcentre.com/pdfs/15thGeology/96_MachelKambesisLaceMylroieJRMylroieJESumrall_15thGeology.pdf

  26. David Avatar
    David

    Pothole stops Donville

  27. Snusmas Avatar
    Snusmas

    Danville can you tell us the name of the persons given a permit from your ministry to import chicken and hamburger patties?

  28. David Avatar
    David

    At 39 minutes of the video is a reminder the flipflop on charging citizens for tertiary education. This is what politicians do to win elections.

    On Sun, Jan 8, 2017 at 1:15 PM, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  29. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    We allow these foreigners to come to Barbados, set up companies, get public contracts, grow wealthy and then laugh at us. We are mad.

  30. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    “Inniss, who limped home on the slowly deflating tyre, confirmed to the SUNDAY SUN that it was the “second time in about four months I have been the victim of a pothole”, revealing that the first episode cost him almost $3 000 and damage to two wheels. The St James South Member of Parliament, who was visibly upset at the scene, complained that once again he would have to pay to replace a tyre and have the wheel examined for damage”

    Donville Inniss you need to buy a vehicle suited for Barbados roads.

  31. Snusmas Avatar
    Snusmas

    ……………..or buy a car with an autopilot or hire a designated driver.

  32. David Avatar
    David

    @Hants

    Last time a member of the BU household spotted the Don he was driving a Prado, a 3 or 4 year model.

  33. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ David,

    Prado = burst tire.

    Corolla = suspension damage or worse.

    He is lucky.

  34. John Avatar
    John

    nineofnine

    Over the course of many years this group has systematically identified and mapped many caves in Barbados from the various documented sources and local knowledge.

  35. Exclaimer Avatar
    Exclaimer

    “$30m dividend for Grotto may be illegal

    THE HIGH RISE GROTTO Housing Project in Dalkeith.

    A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE in a Special Audit of National Housing Corporation high rises – to which Government has not responded – is the possibly illegal use of monies from the Housing Credit Fund as a dividend to pay nearly $30 million for the Grotto complex.
    Related articles

    It is now emerging that Government ignored its own legal advisers and
    went ahead with the payment even though it was informed, as noted by
    the Auditor General, that “the transfer of $30 million from the Housing Credit Fund to the Government cannot be substantiated in law”.

    Almost three years ago, Government sought a legal opinion on whether the Trustee of the HCF – the Central Bank – has the power under the Trust Deed
    to pay a dividend out of the Fund to the Government.

    This was against the backdrop of a letter dated March 10, 2015, from the managing director of the company, Preconco Limited, to Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler.”

    ALBERT BRANDFORD, albertbrandford@nationnews.com
    Added 22 January 2017

  36. MAM1 + MAM2 = Business as Usual | Barbados Underground

    […] Denis Kellman: Question Time About the GROTTO High Rise Project NOT Potholes […]

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