KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – The International Airport Development Company (IADC) will hold a media briefing Thursday morning to discuss “the current situation” amidst rumours that thousands of dollars are unaccounted for at the company.
I-Witness News on Wednesday contacted Jennifer Richardson-Herbert, communications specialist at the IADC regarding the reports.
Richardson-Herbert did not respond to I-Witness News question about the alleged disappearance of funds at the company but said that the media briefing, to be held at 9:40 a.m. at the Port Authority conference room, would be broadcast live on NBC Radio and Star FM.
I-Witness News had asked Richardson-Herbert if there was any truth to reports that money is unaccounted for at the IADC and, if so, how much.
I-Witness News has also asked about the circumstances in which the money is reportedly unaccounted for. This publication also wanted to know if the alleged development was reported to the police, what was the status of their investigation, and if not, what was the IADC doing to resolve this alleged development.
I-Witness News also wanted to know if Richardson-Herbert was aware that visitors to the IADC’s website were greeted by the following: “NOTICE: This domain name expired on 02/06/2012 and is pending renewal or deletion”.
The IADC, a state company, is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the construction of the EC$652 million Argyle International Airport, scheduled to be become operational in 2014.
Last Thursday, Vincentian businessman Denzil Bacchus presented to Prime Minister Dr. Rlaph Gonsalves a cheque for EC$20,000, one-fifth of what he intends to donate to the airport project.
“A project like that is a great project and I have always said to myself, over 20 years ago, that I will pledge it if someone takes the responsibility to do it,” Bacchus, who encouraged other Vincentians to donate to the airport, told I-Witness News.
Among the financiers of the project, the largest capital investment in this country’s, history, is Gonsalves’ “coalition of the willing” nations, including Mexico, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, and Taiwan.