Government Refutes Golding’s Claim of ‘Tardiness’ On Torrington Park

The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation says comments from the member of parliament for South St. Andrew, Mark Golding, blaming the government for tardiness in addressing the poor state of infrastructure at the Torrington Park Housing Scheme, are false.

A staircase at the complex, located in the constituency of the opposition leader, collapsed on the weekend, injury one resident and leaving others unable to access their apartments.

George Davis reports.

Following the incident, Golding told the media he has long complained about the issue, calling on the authorities to act in the best interest of residents.

He said he had approached Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the economic growth ministry to no avail.

But the growth ministry has rejected that argument. The ministry says it has made several attempts to have the required corrective work commence and that Golding has been briefed along the way.

The ministry explains that it initiated a process to put the project to tender, but no bid met the required criteria. It said security concerns regarding the location was a factor. The process was subsequently aborted.

The ministry said when efforts to obtain the services of a structural engineer over a protracted period did not yield the desired result, it engaged the services of Rural Water Supply Limited.

It says the Public Procurement Commission, PPC, did not support the use of the restricted bidding procurement process. Consequently, the ministry moved to utilise the national competitive bidding process.

The approval was received on Monday, November 18 and the ministry immediately engaged with the selected contractor and issued a ‘Commencement of Works’ letter. It is anticipated that the contractor will start work on Tuesday, November 19.

The ministry says it regrets the injury reportedly caused to a senior citizen due to the collapse of a staircase.

It maintains, however, that it was bound by law to await the decision of the PPC before causing work to commence.

The ministry rejects the allegation of tardiness and urges Mark Golding to ensure that his statements pertaining to the issue align with the facts and are not misleading.

In a statement to the media, the ministry also revealed it had recently signed a contract valued at almost $23 million to facilitate housing infrastructure remedial work in Wilton Gardens, popularly known as Rema.

Rema falls in the opposition leader’s constituency.