The West Basseterre Bypass Road is already over a year behind schedule, and, last week, the Labour Government issued yet another statement saying that the road is "coming soon" and would cost far more than the original bid promised. The selected bid was for around EC $18 million, and, last week, the Labour Government announced that the final cost of the project is closer to EC$34 million.
The Labour Government released that number, but, has yet to explain the nature of cost overruns and delays that have plagued the project. They've also yet to fulfill on their promise to issue a report on what caused the bridge collapse that killed one person last year.
"According to the selected bid, the project was supposed to be completed over a year ago at a cost of EC $18 million. As of June of this year, the total cost was estimated to be EC $20.6 million. Last week, Denzil Douglas is telling us that the total project will now cost nearly EC$34 million. That's ridiculous!" said PAM Leader Lindsay Grant. "This project is set to cost nearly 2 times the promised cost with no explanation from Denzil Douglas or the Labour Government. It's time for Denzil Douglas to stop refusing to answer questions and be honest with us about this unacceptable delay and these ridiculous cost overruns."
Commentators have asked questions about the nature of the cost overruns that have yet to be answered by the Labour Government. Most pressing is "where did the money go?" Some have pressed the Labour Government to release the names of the contractors and the investors linked to the project to determine who is really profiting from these overruns.
Grant concluded, "Under Labour, waste, fraud and abuse is rampant. We need some sunshine on this shadowy government. Where did all of this extra money go? What companies are receiving these contracts? And, who are the shareholders that are benefiting? Our tax dollars are being wasted away by massive cost overruns and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis deserve answers from Denzil Douglas and Labour for this waste."
