YESTERDAY’S meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament was theatre at its best and the members of the audience in the gallery were kept on the edge of their seats throughout the three hours of high drama.

The PAC members traded insults, ruffled each other’s feathers, cross-talked all the way through, mostly ignored the chairman’s gavel and, in the end, managed to do little to bring the committee nearer to determining how the Sandals Whitehouse Hotel project could have achieved the massive cost overrun of US$43 million.

Grabbing centre stage was People’s National Party (PNP) member, Keith ‘K D’ Knight whose feistiness kept the meeting unbalanced and the audience frequently in stitches.

After trying, fruitlessly, to contain Knight, chairman Mike Henry of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) lost it: “I will continue to sit comfortably here and let you make an ass of yourself!” he shot back at Knight.

Knight, now a parliamentary backbencher, figured in most of the exchanges, with strong support from PNP colleague John Junor, who at times brought courtroom-style drama to the proceedings with their ‘cross-examination’ of the Gorstew representatives, led by Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart.

Gorstew, one of the three partners in the contentious Whitehouse project, was fielding questions for the second day. The other two partners are the government-owned Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the National Investment Bank of Jamaica (NIBJ). Together they own the Ackendown Newtown Development Company (ANDCO) which built the Whitehouse project in Westmoreland, based on a dream by Stewart to spur development of Jamaica’s rustic south coast.

The dream turned sour when the hotel was delivered late, with inferior finishing which, according to Gorstew, hurt its vaunted Sandals name and cost the company huge sums of money in refunds to early guests. Gorstew is suing the UDC, the project manager, to recover its money.

Yesterday, Gorstew continued its submissions before the PAC, having appeared for a previous hearing in December. Knight fired a barrage of questions at Stewart, Patrick Lynch, a director of Gorstew and Jeremy Brown of Implementation Limited, and when JLP member Delroy Chuck interrupted him, declared: “Why don’t you stand up so you can hear?” suggesting Chuck was sitting on his ears.

At another point, he told Henry: “Don’t try those stupidness. You only look stupid.”

When Stewart tried to cut to the chase by directing the meeting to the need to determine how the cost overruns came to be and who was responsible, Knight continued his questions.

Stewart started by pointing to the role of Dr Vin Lawrence, the former chairman of the UDC, when he was interrupted by Knight and Junor. Former PAC chairman, Audley Shaw responded: “You can’t call Vin Lawrence name, eh? You can’t call God name?”

Knight bellowed: “Please stop the barking behind me,” to the JLP members seated in the row immediately behind him.

There was great uproar when Knight said to Stewart: “…the power of money…that is why they are barking like that… the power of your money…” Knight was urged by the JLP members to withdraw the remark which was seen as unbecoming. He ignored the suggestion of the chairman that he take back his words.

As Junor pressed a point about tiles being laid diagonally and costing more as a result, Chris Zacca, a Gorstew director, momentarily silenced him by disclosing that two truck loads of tiles were taken from the property after the construction.

Cool throughout most of the meeting, Stewart himself became agitated, at one point, telling Knight “You are talking rubbish. You couldn’t be further from the truth.”

JLP’s Clive Mullings, for his part, declared: “Member Knight is seeking a sound byte and is failing miserably.” Knight’s response to Mullings was: “Shut yuh mouth, you stupid little fellow.”

Chuck: This is a circus, Mr Chairman, this is a circus now!”

Throughout, chairman Mike worked his gavel to no avail. Sotto voce remarks competed with every submission. In the end, a frustrated Stewart noted that nobody was asking about how the hotel was going to be completed as there was still work to be done, in order to deliver the services it had promised. “You are here quarrelling about nonsense!”