Government Ministers to answer 22 questions from Opposition

Seven government Ministers will be called upon to provide oral answers to 22 questions that are listed on the Order Paper for today’s sitting of the House of Assembly.

First on the list of questions to be posed by eight Opposition members is one from Leader {{more}}of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace about the Argyle international airport.

Eustace will ask the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr Ralph Gonsalves about the project cost of the Argyle international airport, the total expenditure on the airport as at December 31, 2014, how the airport is to be managed on completion and to give an update on progress with regard to airlines agreeing to fly into Argyle international airport on its completion.

This country’s Petrocaribe agreement with Venezuela, which stole the spotlight during the Budget debate in January, will again be discussed today, as Dr Godwin Friday, MP for the Northern Grenadines, would like to know how much money did SVG receive under the long-term loan component of the PetroCaribe agreement with Venezuela during the period November 1, 2014 through February 28, 2015; in which account is the money received under the long-term loan component of that agreement kept; how is money authorized to be spent from the account and upon whose request or instructions is it spent; and who is responsible for the administration of the fund or funds.

Answers will also be provided today for questions about the upkeep of the James F Mitchell airport in Bequia, the relatively high level of school dropouts, the 2014 CXC CSEC results, the number of functioning ambulances in the country, the clutter along the corridors of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital and the black sigatoka disease.

Today’s sitting will begin at 10 a.m.