Moore’s head on chopping block, says Heroy Clarke

WESTERN BUREAU

Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) government member Heroy Clarke says Savanna-la-Mar Mayor Bertel Moore must be held accountable for the cost overruns plaguing the ongoing construction of the new Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) building.

Clarke was responding to a recent statement by Moore that heads could roll should the cash overrun on the multimillion-dollar Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) headquarters fail to meet next month’s revised timeline.

However, in contending that Moore should not be allowed to distance himself from responsibility, Clarke said that the People’s National Party-affiliated mayor should also face consequences if the timeline is not met.

Clarke said that Moore, chairman of the WMC, was there from the conceptualisation of the building through to the completion of the draft plan.

“Yes, heads are to roll, but he must make sure that his head is at the top of the list because the buck stops with him,” he said.

Notwithstanding the cost overruns, which spanned six years of delays and approximately $30 million, the Savanna-la-Mar mayor was insistent that the project must be completed by the end of February.

Clarke, member of parliament for St James Central and a former councillor in the St James Municipal Corporation, is contending that the required due diligence was not done to ensure that suitable lands were found to build the WMC headquarters.

While agreeing that all stakeholders in the construction phase be called to give account, he said that Moore should explain his role in the decision-making process.

“First and foremost, they should have sought proper land space to host the parish council building,” Clarke told The Gleaner.

“Look at the little piece of land that they put up the building on.”

However, in seeking to defend his administration, Moore said that the municipal building was designed by the technical team at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.