00:00A war of words has been fully engaged as it relates to the suitability of Whitehall for
00:05occupation by the office of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretariat. On Monday, the
00:11government's first day of business after winning at the polls, Minister in the office of the Prime
00:16Minister, Bari Padaroth, told media it was not suitable for the Cabinet Secretariat and had a
00:23mold problem. You will see pictures and videos acquired by TV6 showing the said basement where
00:29the Cabinet Secretariat once operated. Today, former Public Administration Minister Alison
00:35West categorically rejected the assertion. In a statement, she says Whitehall was carefully
00:40restored between 2016 and 2019 and has since functioned as the official office of the Prime
00:47Minister used by both Dr. Keith Rowley and Stuart Young. She says, quote, it has also served as the
00:54location for weekly Cabinet meetings and meetings of Cabinet subcommittees such as the Finance and
01:01General Purposes Committee. The building remains structurally sound, safe and fully operational,
01:07except for sections of the basement level occupied by the Cabinet Secretariat, end quote.
01:13A technical assessment, she said, was conducted to examine the basement amid reports of leaks and
01:18drainage challenges during the 2024 rainy season. She says this did not impact the remainder of the
01:25building. To facilitate the $4.5 million repair work, the Cabinet Secretariat, she said, was temporarily
01:32located. The work, she explained, include improvement to basement waterproofing and plumbing, emergency egress
01:39and access points for deliveries, drainage at the pedestrian access used by Cabinet office staff,
01:45routine cleaning and window maintenance in the affected area. West adds, quote, it may well be that
01:52the real issue is the inability of the Cabinet meeting room which comfortably accommodated Rowley
01:58and Young cabinets to accommodate the current Cabinet, end quote. Opposition leader Penelope Beckel said
02:04she is unaware of any issue relative to the fitness of Whitehall. We had our Cabinet meeting there just two
02:11weeks ago. I mean, we have had Cabinet there for quite a long time. So I'm fascinated. I'm waiting to hear
02:18exactly what is it that makes Whitehall unfit. Meanwhile, Minister Barry Padaroth tells TV6 he has taken note of
02:26what the former minister has said. The former minister actually, in her press release, admits
02:33that after expending $40 million to restore Whitehall, that a further $5 million will now have to be forked
02:46out by taxpayers of this country because of the waste mismanagement and corruption of the people's
02:53national movement. He says his statement reinforces the fact that the Cabinet Secretariat had to be,
02:59quote, unquote, evacuated from the building, leaving 10 persons operating from Whitehall.
03:05A Prime Minister who has to run an entire country would need to have heads of departments, heads of
03:11division, critical staff working alongside her. I don't know what the other former Prime Ministers were
03:17doing. He said complaints came directly from the quarters of public servants who occupied the very
03:23basement designated for the Secretariat. So when Ms. Barrow told me about the staff complaining about the
03:30cramped conditions, about the impact of mold on their health, on the impact of flooding in the areas
03:39where the Cabinet Secretariat usually operates out of, these are not the words of the minister in the
03:45office of the Prime Minister or the Parliamentary Secretary. These were the words of the public servants.
03:52Padarath says it is difficult to reconcile the minister's statements as Whitehall under this
03:57administration was not intended to be used by the UNC for Cabinet meetings alone.
04:03We are going into the rainy season within a month or two where floodwaters will impact on parts of the
04:09building. No restorative work has started and most of the other divisions do not operate and function
04:18out of Whitehall.
04:20Arvashi Tawari, Rubnarain, TV6 News.
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