by ALBERT BRANDFORD

NO $2 500 LOCK for the Rural Development Commission (RDC)!

That's the word from Prime Minister David Thompson as he responded to charges made about operations at the RDC by Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley last Tuesday in the Budget Reply.

Mottley had called for the firing of the RDC head Michael Power over activities that included paying $2 560 for installation of an entrance lock at an RDC-commissioned house in Maynard's, St Peter; a 50 per cent hike in house prices from between $59 000 and $63 000 to $87 000 with the January 15 change of Government; and an increase in electrical rewiring costs from $3 900 to over $9 000.

Thompson told the House of Assembly during his wrap-up speech late Wednesday night the allegations were "baseless and untrue".

"The money was paid to the managing director of Precision Contractors & Maintenance Limited," Thompson noted.

Relocation

"It was for relocating a lady from her current location in Maynard's, St Peter, to another location in St Peter to facilitate the building of a three-bedroom house, and included the following:

"He was awarded a contract to effect major repairs to the lady's house, but in order to commence work, it was necessary to relocate her to the duplex.

"In addition, the figure of $2 500 also includes transferring her furniture and fixtures to the duplex, and the removal of debris and rubbish to the dump.

"This called for some five trips – three to the dump and two to the duplex apartment at Maynard's.

"Further, a lock had to be affixed so that Miss Payne could safely occupy the duplex.

"All of that came to the sum of $2 500.

The document

"I have the document that the Honourable Member had but there was an attachment to the document. The Honourable Member didn't have that. It's a pity because it's that level of recklessness . . . ."

Mottley interrupted to say that Thompson saw the invoice, and that if what she alleged was not on the document, he should say so.

Thompson responded that he thought Mottley had a greater duty to try and get to the bottom of it "because attached to the document was a note which the accountant would, or whosoever, would have provided the money, or paid the money, would have had".

Earlier in the day, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Senator Haynesley Benn, who has responsibility for the RDC, told the media the charge of paying $2 560 for changing a lock was "dead wrong".

Benn said the figure included the removal of several loads of debris, followed by transportation of furniture and household possessions from one house to another.

"The same contractor that put on the lock insisted that he move the stuff and he did it," Benn was quoted as saying. "The total job was $2 560, so it was not for a lock alone and I double-checked that and reconfirmed that this [Wednesday] morning."

With regard to Mottley's query about the big insurer, CLICO, taking over one contract at the state-run Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and whether it went out to tender, Thompson comfirmed that the all-risk insurance policy had indeed gone to tender through the brokers, Insurance General Services Limited (IGS) Limited.

"Insurance Corporation of Barbados (ICB) quoted $612 569.69; CLICO quoted $537 523.97; and Consumers Guarantee Insurance (CGI) quoted $535 998," he revealed.

"Now, the previous year's premium, by ICB, was only $554 000, but the quote for this year was $612 000. So the [CBC] board took the view that they would split the insurance between the two lowest bids – half to CGI and half to CLICO."