Prime Minister Gaston Browne has adopted a ‘wait and see’ posture regarding the controversy regarding the publicity surrounding the huge cost over-runs in the construction of an official residence for the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
The matter was brought to light last week when a letter written by St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves addressed to PM Browne, was released to the public. In his letter, the SVG PM expressed grave concerns over the cost over-runs calling the proposed building ‘a palace’.
He indicated that the building was originally estimated to cost $7 million, but the costs have since mushroomed to more than $22 million. Dr. Gonsalves wants to see severe consequences for this development.
But PM Browne is taking a softer approach to resolve the issue as he pointed that what he sees as ‘deficiencies’ in the governance structure that allowed this matter to reach the stage that it has.
“At the level of the Monetary Council, we were caught flatfooted in terms of the monies spent, but I don’t know that we can escape responsibility. Some may argue that we ought to have known. At the level of the directorship, I don’t know that they knew the extent of the money that was spent,” he observed.
Additionally, the prime minister noted that there is no evidence that the Governor, himself, had sought to be excessive, noting that he has not seen any case of corruption that would create an issue of undermining the Governor’s integrity.
PM Browne is calling for the establishment of an independent committee to look into the matter and that everyone should reserve judgement until the committee has submitted its report.
He however acknowledged that the amounts spent on the building ‘had raised concerns’ among monetary council members, but he feels it may be premature for him to be making any definitive statement at this time.
