Office of House of Assembly temporarily moved to Ratho Mill

THE OFFICE of the House of Assembly has been temporarily relocated to a house at Ratho Mill until the temporary Parliament building being constructed at Calliaqua is completed.

The Staff of the House of Assembly moved into their new office last November, and according to a newsletter from the House of Assembly, “the staff was elated and extremely grateful to be in their new, comfortable and spacious accommodation.”

The House of Assembly building in Kingstown is in dire need of repair and the building at Calliaqua is being constructed to allow for sittings of Parliament to take place while a modern new Parliament building is constructed at the site in Kingstown.

Parliament has authorized the Government to borrow US$20 million for the construction of the new Parliament building and high court complex. The US$20 million will be divided among three components — US$10 million for the high court complex, US$7 million for the modern parliament building and US$2 million for the refurbishment of the current courthouse and parliament building. A US$1 million contingency is also included in the project.

The modern parliament building is expected to take 31 months to complete, while the high court complex is expected to take 28 months. The rehabilitation of the historic parliament building will take about 18 months to complete.

The construction of the temporary parliament building at Calliaqua, which started August 18, 2021 is well underway, with steady progress being made, the House of Assembly newsletter said.

On the completion of the Parliament building, the Calliaqua building will be vacated and converted to a student dormitory/ hostel to cater to rural and Grenadines students who attend the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College, but have challenges in traveling to the facility.

The Office of the House of Assembly may be reached at 456-1111 ext. 4745 and 4746. Opening hours are 8 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.