A MOTION moved by Opposition Leader Bruce Golding to have a community project transferred from the Estimates of Expenditure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade to the Office of the Prime Minister, was rejected by Parliament's Standing Finance Committee yesterday.
Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator Anthony Hylton, told the committee that former Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, K.D. Knight, had negotiated the project with the Chinese Government.
COMPLEX IN SLIGOVILLE
The sports complex is being built in Sligoville, St. Catherine, in Mr. Knight's constituency, at a cost of $248 million.
But Mr. Golding wanted to know why this project was under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and suggested that it be put under the Office of the Prime Minister, which has responsibility for sports.
"... If you could tell us, what business does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have with sports facilities? All multinational lateral corporations come through the Ministry of Finance but they do not end up in their head of estimates," he pointed out.
"Or does it have something to do with the constituency that was represented by that particular minister? But if that is so, that is a corruption of the budget process," Golding stated.
