More diversion, no plan for action.
Bearing in mind that my information is 3rd hand, apparently the Premier held a joint press conference with Pro-Active which essentially listed off all the projects that ran over time/budget under previous Governments.
My concern is less that the projects ran over, but that:
a) this is the first (or second if you include the PLP BHC scandal) capital project under the PLP to involve not just contractors but the police and an Auditor who has raised the real possibility of fraud!
b) rather than deal with the budget/problems years ago Alex Scott preferred to deny what everyone knew. The PLP could have dealt with this a long time ago but chose to do nothing.
c) if this is the best the PLP can do around economic empowerment we're doomed! This project has set back small black contractors light years due to the ineptitude and scandal surrounding it. It's given everyone who opposes Government programs to broaden economic opportunity the firepower they wanted. Economic empowerment needs a plan and the recipients must be managed, not just given a cheque for $70M (now $100M)! The PLP have done far more to damage Pro-Active through this project than they have to help small black businesses.
But that's all irrelevant apparently because the PLP don't want to do things right, they feel that they only need to do things as badly as it might have been done before! Why? Perhaps because as someone recently summed up the PLP's raison d'etre to me as: "Yes you're getting shafted, but wouldn't you rather be shafted by people who look like you?"
Spin, spin, spin.
PS Apparently VSB is going to run clips of the press conference on the 12:15PM news.
