No money for Kellier's emancipation projects
Published:Thursday | July 28, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Erica Virtue, Senior Gleaner Writer
THE SITTINGS of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) were on Tuesday adjourned for a date to be announced, leaving Member of Parliament Derrick Kellier with a huge disappointment, as he received no money to fund Emancipation/Independence, projects in his constituency.
The fund's meeting chair, Everald Warmington, expressed annoyance, saying what was contained in the project document seeking the funds was unsatisfactory.
The meeting was told that Kellier was seeking $2.4 million for emancipation/Independence projects, with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) being the implementing agency, but he also came away empty-handed.
"I have a problem here. The submission form needs to be signed. then the project is not recommended. It's not signed here and the project document is not signed by the recommending officers, its not signed by JCDC, neither by the project officers or the project manager," Warmington said, as he waded through a number of things that were not done.
"And the other thing, the estimate that is here is not stamped or signed. Who prepared this estimate? There is an estimate here that is not stamped or signed, I don't know who it came from," by now a clearly annoyed Warmington said.
"This programme, is totally incomplete," he said, and later corrected himself to say the submission was incomplete.
Executive director of the CDF, Moveta Munroe, told the meeting that the project document reached the unit only 24 hours before it was presented at Tuesday's meeting. She said projects are to reach the unit at least seven days before they are taken to the committee.
Munroe said she could give no information on how the document reached her office, and that she had no information on what details were included.
Previous rejection
Kellier, the MP for St James Southern, initially sought $4 million for emancipation and sporting pro-jects. The project was rejected under a cloud of controversy, despite stout defence from Kellier. Three weeks ago, Kellier was involved in a heated debate with other members as he sought approval for sports and Emancipation/Independence projects.
A furore erupted when committee members expressed opposing supporting views on whether the committee should support projects the CDF unit termed "feel good" projects.
Munroe said Kellier was asked to resubmit the project.
Meanwhile, a project from Portland East Member of Parliament Dr Donald Rhodd was the first to reach the chopping block. Warmington said the project showed that the implementing agency was the Institute of Sports, but was annoyed that there was no signature from the implementing agency.
The CDF representative explained that the $1.5 million was being sought to support a number of sporting events, but Warmington was not satisfied. He was insistent that estimates must be prepared by the implementing agencies.
St Andrew West Central Member of Parliament Andrew Holness also found himself on the wrong side of Warmington, with his project seeking $3.9 million for literacy and back-to-school programmes returned to the unit as the 'project submission form is not signed'.