Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

Spanish Town, St. Catherine:

The St. Catherine Parish Council has decided to stop work on the Sligoville stadium in rural St. Catherine as no building plan was submitted to the council's technical department.

"We do not want a situation that is now taking place in St. Ann to affect us in the St. Catherine Council and, since no fees or no plan has been submitted to the relevant department of the council, work was ordered to stop following a meeting," remarked Hyman Smith, chairman of the building and planning committee.

Seeking a waiver

Mr. Smith told The Gleaner that the closest any reference came to the council, about work to be done at the stadium, was when the councillor for the area mentioned in a meeting that he would be seeking a waiver for fees on the project which is to cost US$20 million courtesy of the Chinese Government.

Mr. Smith said a waiver could not be granted to the political representative, but only to the developer and that, to date, nothing has been done to legally build the stadium in Sligoville.

Attempts to get a comment from the manager of the technical department, Ronald Brown, proved futile. However, secretary manager, Michael Morris, said he was aware that a meeting of the planning committee was held on September 19, but that he could not speak fully on the issue.

Earlier this year, the Chinese Government and then Foreign Affairs Minister K.D. Knight, the Member of Parliament for the area, signed off on the deal for the building of the stadium which is to house a police station, health centre, running track and other facilities.