Lotto funds for NA basketball court utilised otherwise
By Daniel DaCosta
Stabroek News
May 4, 2002
New Amsterdam Mayor Neville Johnson has confirmed that the $1 million that was handed over to the Town Council in 1999 by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport to assist in the rehabilitation of the municipal basketball court had been utilised for "other purposes".
The mayor told Stabroek News that when he enquired about the money which was made available by the Lotto company at the council's last statutory meeting, Town Clerk Laurel Alfred disclosed that it had been utilised under the council's current accounts.
Johnson said he was very concerned and embarrassed over what he termed the "disappearance" of the funds since he recalled that it was handed over to him in 1999 by Minister Gail Teixeira.
"In 2000 when I returned from the United States I enquired about the money and why nothing was done on the court and was told that it was in a special account. In 2001 when I again enquired I was told the same thing."
However, Alfred informed the council meeting in March that the money was included in the council's current account and in fact was not in a special account. According to the `Chief Citizen' "I was receiving false information all the time."
Several councillors had on numerous occasions enquired about the money and had asked for it to be included in the treasurer's cash statement together with the money for the rehabilitation of Burnham Park. At the last statutory meeting councillors were told by the town clerk that he was advised by the accountant that the $625,970 for the park would not be included in the current account since it was taken from that account and placed into a term deposit account. Mayor Johnson has since asked the town clerk to make the relevant bank statement available for a special meeting of council.
Recently the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport wrote the council asking why no work had been done on the basketball court. The mayor has since replied to the correspondence. Members of the sporting public and in particular basketball players and fans have over the years repeatedly voiced their dissatisfaction with the inactivity and the numerous excuses offered by the town clerk.
The court has been in a deplorable state for some time now with little basketball being played. Over the years the administration had on several occasions promised the public that work on the court "would commence as soon as the weather permits" but apart from some landfilling no tangible work has been executed on the court.
A technical team from Huntsville, Texas, USA recently declared that the council was "broke". Garbage collection and disposal was recently contracted to a businessman at a cost of approximately $180,000 per week.
Meanwhile, up to yesterday employees of the council had not yet received their salaries for April. Several efforts to contact Alfred for an update on the situation were unsuccessful. In March salaries were also paid late.
The council's revenue collection has been severely hampered by the removal of vendors from the market to facilitate reconstruction of the facility under the Urban Development Programme (UDP).