HOUSING Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has a bombshell to drop on United National Congress (UNC) Deputy Political Leader Jack Warner about the four stadia which were built during the UNC administration.

But sources in the People’s National Movement (PNM) say Dr. Rowley, who is in possession of all the relevant documents and cheques regarding the construction of the stadia, may soon “buss the mark” or he may wait until during the general election campaign.

The PNM sources told TnT Mirror the government had ordered a forensic audit on how payments were made and to whom, for the stadia, which cost some $400 million to $40 million more than the original cost.

The issue has surfaced again after Warner launched an attack on Dr. Rowley at the UNC’s Monday Night Forum at Longdenville, Chaguanas last Monday night over the government’s lower income home construction project, describing the houses as “boxes.”

Dr. KEITH
ROWLEY

JACK WARNER

Warner said he wants to put Dr. Rowley in one of those same houses to live.

Sources say Dr. Rowley is preparing to lash back at Warner asking him to answer a number of questions.

The Housing Minister wants Warner to say how much money was paid to FIFA for their advice on the construction of the stadia -- at Malabar, Arima, Marabella, Couva and Tobago -- for the FIFA Under-17 World Football Championship, which was held in 2001.

Although FIFA had offered their services free of charge, there are reports that the football organisation ended up receiving payments.

Warner, it was said, would have to clear the air on this matter.

A source also said the Basdeo Panday Cabinet never approved any payments to FIFA.

“Whatever payments were made were done through the Ministry of Finance,” the source said.

At the time Brian Kuei Tung was Minister of Finance. In March this year, Dr. Rowley had called for a wider probe on Warner.

He had called on FIFA to disclose the extent of its involvement on the construction of the four stadia and the renovation of the Hasely Crawford Stadium, projects under the UNC government.

The contract for these projects, which was originally $165 million under the PNM, was increased by $348 million under the UNC.

Dr. Rowley told a news conference the increase was allegedly to include expenditure for bleachers, spectator seating, playing fields, floodlighting and scoreboards.

He had called on FIFA to say if Concacaf and FIFA were involved in the construction of the four stadia and the Hasely Crawford Stadium, how much money they were paid and what services they provided.

Noting that FIFA was named at one point as the project manager, Dr. Rowley called on FIFA to state specifically whether it was involved as a contractor or whether its name was used “to facilitate certain aspects of money management.”

Dr. Rowley also wanted FIFA to state how the contract was terminated and whether it was aware that it ended with a company called CONCACAF and whether this company was related to the regional football administrator, CONCACAF.

In response, Warner was quoted in the Newsday on February 22, 2006 as saying if Rowley was interested in ethics, he would investigate the matter himself.

“Dr. Rowley was only ‘tickling’ Warner to let him know he has a lot of evidence about those stadia but did not want to expose all as yet,” a source said.