The country’s Chief Executive Prime Minister Perry Christie often “makes” grand talk about the proposed $30 million state of the art stadium promised us by the People’s Republic of China.
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STADIUM CONCEPT -- File photo of proposed national stadium gift from the people’s Republic of China. |
He certainly has the gift for garb. He makes the most insignificant happenings sound wonderful and those things that are indeed significant, he adds several dimensions of polish to them. Alas, often substantive follow-ups are long in coming. We therefore offer a suggestion to the nation’s leader.
He through his Cabinet immediately ought to empower the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture to put all the ingredients in place to ensure deadlines relating to the stadium are met. The word that has gone out to the public is a positive one. All is supposedly well. Yet, no Secretariat has been established.
At the moment there is still time to centralize the activities surrounding the coming on stream of the national stadium, but the window of opportunity to operate in a proactive manner is getting smaller and smaller. Staring us right in the face is the largest sports project in the history of this country. Now is the time to begin acting as though there is full recognition of that magnitude.
With the business of "Junkanoo" finished, the Youth, Sports and Culture Ministry can now concentrate on going after The Cabinet to make certain special funding is available to get the National Stadium Secretariat up and running. This is ultra important. The plan is to have the stadium completed by the middle of the year 2007.
Well, we are into 2006. Engineers, contractors and all others associated with buildings understand the ":time process" for such a facility. It seems that already the prospect of getting the stadium completed in 2007 is dicey. Ground-breaking has not yet occurred. But, mid-2007 is the target.
Yes, this is surely the appropriate time, at the outset of 2006 for Prime Minister Christie and his Sports Minister Neville Wisdom to put their heads together and do what needs to be done to get the project really popping. This is a large scale undertaking, and as aforementioned, like nothing ever before.
Hopefully the message will go out from this space today and be heeded by the powers that be. We can’t overemphasize the seriousness of the situation. Junkanoo took the focus these last several months. Now, The Bahamas Games 2006 event is on the table. There is the danger that the national stadium business could get somewhat sidetracked to the extent that deadlines are missed.
Prime Minister Christie, Minister Wisdom and his Sports Ministry associates have to guard against that happening.
Some preliminary work has been completed but much more needs to be done before the first phase of construction can begin.
It’s time to get the National Stadium Secretariat going.
- Austin DWI - New York DWI