NO WORD ON $100 M BALISIER HOUSE

The ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) feted the media at Balisier House last week – and no one asked how the party could rise to a $100 million headquarters within years of being bankrupt.

Journalists hobnobbed with Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley and Government and PNM top brass at the ultra-modern five-storey building at Tranquility Street, in upper Port of Spain.

The event was titled “Mix and Mingle.”

There were drinks, back-slapping and entertainment, and Rowley made a flippant speech about his availability to the media.

He termed Balisier House “a legacy building.”

But there was no comment or queries on how the PNM climbed from insolvency to constructing a contemporary structure, at an estimated cost of some $100 million.

In 2018, Rowley publicly admitted that when he took over leadership of PNM eight years earlier, the PNM was heavily indebted.

He said his first job as party leader was “fighting to save Balisier House.”

Rowley revealed that PNM’s bankers told him that the party owed $4 million.

The party was indebted to the Public Transport Service Corporation and the State-owned electronic media house, among other entities.

The PNM has said that fund-raising projects, including a 10-car raffle, were used to finance the project.

Deputy PNM leader Rohan Sinanan said at the sod-turning event in 2016: “We have been having fund-raising activities, like boat cruises and other efforts, for the past two years for this project.”

Sinanan said he was “confident that the membership will be able to completely fund this new building.”

Rowley called on members to donate, adding: “I, too, contribute to building that new building.”

He asked for support for the raffle.

“People will want to contribute to it by buying a ticket,” he stated.

A party supporter, who is a jeweller, suggested “an exclusive collection” to reflect “unwavering support for the PNM.”

The party previously announced that the then-Balisier House would be refurbished and converted into a museum and archive library.

The new structure sits on some 25,000 square feet of prime real estate. There is basement parking.

The PNM has never acknowledged the construction cost.

But there has been much speculation about how the debt-ridden PNM could so quickly afford to fund a spanking structure.

Critics include Opposition Member of Parliament Rodney Charles, who called for donors to be identified.

Charles claimed there were “questionable sources” of funds.

He asked for the Police Service to investigate the funding through the Financial Intelligence Unit and Counter-Trafficking Unit.

The parliamentarian also urged that for legislation pertaining to campaign financing.

But none of those searching matters were on the minds of the PNM and its guest journalists as they partied at the state-of-the-art Balisier House.