He’s the Minister of Housing and the Mesopotamia incumbent, but Michael Finnegan has been under fire in the opposition media and now in the Reporter Newspaper for a particular house in his division. The house abuts St. Michael’s High School and sits on the property formerly associated with the notoriously short lives Queen Square Pool. So there’s a pool – disused and filthy, and a school, locked in and needing space to grow, and now, between the two a house built for a staunch supporter. It may be a sound political decision, but is it good policy? Today we put those questions to the area representatives.
Hon. Michael Finnegan, Minister of Housing
“There is no veracity to the complete story, to the whole story that is in the Reporter. That property is not crown property, that property is the property of the National Sports Council and the National Sports Council gave the Ministry of Housing through the Housing and Planning Officer Mr. Noel Harvey permission to use as piece of the property that the house is on and furthermore it is not a ghost person or secret person that the house was built for. The house was built for a mother of four, a lady, Karen Ginney as you know who works at my office as my receptionist who is a mother of four and a ardent campaigner for me at Salvation Army School at every election.”
Jules Vasquez,
Why then should a private home be built there, why shouldn’t it be the property of the school?
Hon. Michael Finnegan,
“Because it is not the property of the school.”
Jules Vasquez,
Why should it then not be transferred to the school?
Hon. Michael Finnegan,
“Why should it not be transferred to the Area Representative?”
Jules Vasquez,
Because it adjoins a school, it is a natural progression.”
Hon. Michael Finnegan,
“So we did the correct thing. We officially seek permission from the owner of the land to use it. Why didn’t the school or whosoever wanted lease of the property use the same initiative like we did in our area to acquire a piece of the land? But furthermore, all the remaining balance of the land that is there the school can have it.
I am in a division that is ham-locked for land. Wherever land that I can find in my division, I need to find them because I need to reciprocate to my voters. They have backed me over these many many years and I cannot continue to have my voters keep on going out of Mesopotamia Division because then there would be no Finnegan.”
Jules Vasquez,
Explain if you can, okay people say reward your voters but not your secretary first.
Hon. Michael Finnegan,
“That secretary is my voter. She was my campaigner before she was receptionist. As I said to you, she along with Ellis Arnold manage all my campaigns at polling area 15 at Salvation Army School. I am indebted to that woman and by the way she lives with her four children with her good gentleman who is also a supporter of mine. So don’t use any kind of cagey language like probably giving the suggestion like some secret close friend of Minister Finnegan. No, their investigation is completely poor. If you walk into Mesopotamia division, everybody knows who this lady is.
Whenever that school will get on with their project in terms of expanding that project, the Minister of Housing will financially give a hand to St. Michael’s College. It is a poor school and it is a black school, brother.”
Finnegan says he has discussed the school’s expansion with the Education Minister and expects that it will go forward from there.
