The Government of Dominica continues to engage with the supplier of a lighting system to restore the lighting at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium (WPSS).
This was according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit who was addressing a press conference held recently.
Since the passage of Hurricane Maria in 2017, which caused significant damage to the WPSS, the Government of Dominica has invested over $8 million in upgrades to include repairs to the stadium roof, the purchase and installation of a new electronic scoreboard among other improvements.
“The lighting of the Windsor Park, last I got from the Ministry of Sports is that we continue to engage with the supplier of a lighting system, so I am hoping that we can [arrive] at a conclusion on this and the Ministry of Sports can advise the cabinet on the contractual amounts and engagement so that we can implement the lights in the stadium,” Skerrit said.
He continued, “We are committed to this and we will have more time as opposed to the shorter period which we would have had if we had to host the World Cup, so we have more time to implement this aspect of it.”
On Thursday, December 29, an EC$2.4-million-dollar contract was signed for the restoration of the lighting at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium between the government of Dominica and Watson Canoville of C&J Electrical Services.
This includes the installation of six (6) new poles/light towers to suit the needs of nighttime local, regional, and international sporting events, which form part of the scope of work. At the time, it was anticipated that it would be completed in three months.
Senator Oscar George, the Minister with Special Responsibility for Youth and Sports, said during the brief ceremony that the site will be qualified to stage international cricket matches in the evening.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Culture, Youth, Sports and Community Development, Lucien Blackmoore gave an overview of the project.
“We have the four poles. Two were totally decimated by Hurricane Maria and two remain standing but you can see that the lighting apparatus itself is in a dysfunctional state. And where they are situated right now is not ideal for the game of cricket. So those towers that are now standing first of all have to be taken down, they have to be dismantled. The foundations where they are to be demolished. And they will be re-erected and placed further back, maybe about eight meters back from where they are right now. We will now have six of those towers and every tower will have about fifty-eight bulbs in there,” Blackmoore stated.
He explained that new poles will be added as well as complete rewiring of the underground circuits.
Roosevelt ministers on every portfolio. On sports, health, education, finance, agriculture, in fact, all the other ministerial posts, he has marginalised his line ministers and even relegated them to mere ghost functionaries.
Here he comes spouting his usual lies and bogus promises. After seven years Windsor Park is without proper lighting. Inexcusable!
The absence of a modern athletic stadium, an up to date cruise ship facility and a robust economy, is clearly attributable to the Jack of All Trades but Master of None (Lying Little Roosevelt).
Promises backed by no actions are lies. Roosevelt’s promises are big, fat lies.
So what happened to the 2.4 Million dollars? What did it accomplish? Was it stolen? Those rascals posing as government leaders, have so many questions to answer, it’s no wonder that they have so many attack dogs trying to muzzle dissent…The day shall come when liars, thieves and showmen shall find themselves in a ‘little box’ answering question pertaining to the country’s money under oath!