CWC 2007 and Caribbean leadership
Escalating costs
It appears that some Caricom leaders did not read the fine print or were not sufficiently astute in their analysis of what was being asked of them relative to the regions hosting of the World Cup.
Suddenly political leaders are pulling the hairs off their heads. Many are shocked at the escalating costs attendant to the hosting of the Cup.
Of course our own Comrade Leader chose not his home, St Vincent and the Grenadines, but Brooklyn, New York, in an interview with the Barbados Nations Tony Best, to bemoan the increasing expenses associated with the hosting of the Cup in the region. He now puts the figure for preparations here at home somewhere in excess of $56m ECD and this may yet grow.
The reality is that the Comrade may now be simply too embarrassed to admit that St Vincent and the Grenadines would have been much better off leaving the CWC 07 alone and continuing its work on the realisation of a National Stadium.
He may well now not be in a position to find the monies needed to complete the work related to hosting the warm up games in this country in time for the scheduled start.
The rest of the Caribbean is in a sad state relative to the preparatory exercise. In neighbouring Grenada the decision-makers are afraid to call a spade a spade and the authorities of the overall regional preparatory exercise may well be wanting to do more that merely suggest that Trinidad and Tobago be on standby.
Even in the oil rich Trinidad and Tobago, the new facility in Tarouba, South of Trinidad, there is much cause for concern. The government has had to forestall work on the related projects scheduled for the same venue and focus solely on completing the cricket facility.
The Queens Park Cricket Club, owners of the popular Queens Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, has gone ahead with its own rehabilitative work and has been ahead of the game for the most part.
Overall there are problems with regard to achieving the objectives as set out in respect of the completion of stadiums in the region.