Fire project manager or no money PM says

Prime Minister and Finance Minister Gaston Browne is promising that he will not approve any more funds for the ADOMS project unless the project manager is fired.
Browne made the declaration on Saturday while speaking on the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party aligned, Pointe FM. The ADOMS project has experienced significant cost overruns according to the government.
At last week’s post-Cabinet press conference, the government’s Chief of Staff Lionel “Max” Hurst said that nearly 30 million dollars had been spent on the building when it was supposed to have cost 17 million.
However, more estimate figures exist. At one-point officials quoted the project at 23 million and at another point officials quoted it at 25 million.
It was also reported that a request had been made to the Cabinet for approval of an additional 1 million dollars to complete the project. The prime minister says funds would be disbursed on one condition – the removal of the person responsible for the overruns.
At last week’s post-Cabinet press conference, the Information Minister Melford Nicholas, when asked if the government would ever launch a formal audit of the project, said the administration was not opposed to it.
The prime minister too said he is not opposed to an audit though he did not commit to ordering one.
Browne would only insist that the Project Manager, Wendell Marshall be dismissed.
In November of 2017, Information Melford Nicholas has said the Cabinet would support an audit of the project being done but the government said nothing further about that initiative.
At the time, it was becoming apparent that the ADOMS building would not have been completed in time to host the then-upcoming Caricom Cuba Summit.
Chairman of the ADOMS Board Henderson Bass also suggested to OBSERVER in November last year that the information that the project was at least 8 million dollars over budget was false.
The ADOMS building is to be the new headquarters of the Antiguan and Barbuda Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping also called ADOMS.