BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE mold situation at the Sir Lee Llewellyn Moore Judicial Complex in Basseterre may be more than what officials anticipated, as the basement is likely to be condemned.
This comes as work continues to remedy the situation that caused officials, including judicial officers and lawyers, to complain about the conditions at the location, which officials had to relocate the Courts to two areas.
The Complex was closed in June last year due to the extreme presence of mold within the building. It was reported that a number of persons reportedly got ill, and Attorney-General Garth Wilkin revealed that one person had suffered hair loss.
Now, it was revealed that there has been a delay in the full examination of the building due to the extent of the mold’s presence witnin.
“Because of the extreme mold presence, it is difficult for the Public Works officials to spend much time in the building. As you know Madam Speaker, it has many rooms and many elements, so we are still awaiting a full report,” Wilkins told the National Assembly yesterday morning (Mar.7).
According to AG Wilkin, the Government would have to replace the roof of the building and “we will have to replace all the electric and data lines. We have to gut the central air condition system and replace it with a new system; and four, we may have to condemn the basement which attracts a lot of moisture, given its presence in Basseterre”.
Following an open discussion with Public Works, the Attorney-General revealed that they have a plan to address “all of the issues” at the location, noting that “plasters were put on sores” when it came to the building.
“We don’t want to approach it that way at the Ministry. So our plan is to address the Complex holistically, because it is a historically important building as well as an important part of our democracy,” added Wilkin.
Currently, the courthouses are spread across three locations in the Basseterre area.
The Criminal Courts were moved to the Police Training School Complex in Newtown, whilst the Magistrates were moved to the Fortlands area, and the High Court Registry was relocated to the Sir Tapley Seaton Annex next to the condemned building.
