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  • 9 months ago
Former Public Administration Minister Allyson West says Whitehall is not "Unfit" but Minister in the office of the Prime Minister Barry Padarath says the restoration works the former minister cited, has not yet begun.
Transcript
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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