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Minister of State responsible for Tourism, Sports and Culture Hon. Richard Skerritt said journalists are obligated to their audience to get the story right
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Basseterre, St. Kitts (July 05, 2007): Minister of State responsible for Tourism, Sports and Culture Hon. Richard Skerritt has spoken out against irresponsible journalism in light of a recent published article in a local newspaper.
In a letter dated July 3, 2007, addressed to the Managing Editor of the Democrat Newspaper, Minister Skerritt sought to provide accurate information which highlighted errors printed in a June 16 article entitled “Rock and Dirt and Plenty Money.”
The said article stated that the government minister refused to answer a question which was put to him by Glenroy Blanchette, one of their reporters, at a June 5, town hall meeting which was held to update community residents on the plans for constructing the Bird Rock Athletic Stadium.
But Minister Skerritt said the newspaper’s report is false and the account was grossly misrepresented.
“… at NO time during the (town hall meeting of June 5) was I asked a question by anyone about fees paid to ‘Terra Forma Developments,’ the letter states. “During my address to the large gathering, I congratulated the two local contractors, ‘Raymore and Associates’ and ‘Rock and Dirt’, who had been awarded contracts by the Government for EC $4.4 million and EC $6.8 million respectively, which includes provisions for certain specialist sub-contracts.”
The letter reveals that “Mr. Blanchette stood up introduced himself as the next ‘the next elected representative for Constituency One’, and after a somewhat disjointed and accusatory statement, left the hall hurriedly amidst jeers from the audience.” ~~Adz:Right~~
“At no time then or since did he or any other member of your staff ask me a question about the Bird Rock Athletic Stadium project,” Minister Skerritt reiterated in the letter.
He went on to note that Terra Forma is a highly reputable project development company which has designed and implemented successful projects across the Caribbean region, including at Warner Park. The Minister of State wrote that the “accusation that Terra Forma was paid fees valuing US $1.5 million, or 30 percent of the project cost, is inaccurate and is a gross misrepresentation to readers.”
“The fact is that the Terra Forma total fee amounts to less than US $400,000.00 or approximately 9.5 percent of the value of the project, for their services which include architecture, civil engineering, structural engineering, cost consulting, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and pre-construction project management,” revealed Minister Skerritt, adding that the fee was fixed and was negotiated long before the public tendering process.
The letter went on to state that the two local contractors tendered professional contracts in a competitive bid process and were successful, based on an evaluation report from Terra Forma Developments and related formal recommendations from the Director of Public Works.
Minister Skerritt’s correspondence adds that he has “always provided direct answers to questions asked at press conferences and other public forums by Mr. Blanchette and other representatives of the newspaper and all other local and international media.” He concluded that “the gross misrepresentation by the newspaper of the facts relating to the involvement of Terra Forma Developments, when Mr. Blanchette had every opportunity to obtain those facts at the town hall meeting or by telephone since, indicates the newspaper’s disregard for proper journalistic standards … and their motive to create political mischief in respect to this important National project.”
The letter was copied to other local media houses.
