THE EDITOR: I wish to share my disgust with the reported upgrades planned for the Emperor Valley Zoo.

Folks would have recently read that the Urban Development Corporation (Udecott) stated that the zoo would be upgraded with a restaurant, cinema, etc at a cost of $56 million, plus VAT.

Hmm, I wait to hear who are the people to be given the contract/s, and I am sure that once the information is released no one would be surprised as we all know how giving away/awarding contracts works in sweet TT.

Why does the zoo need a cinema? We have sufficient cinemas in this country. How often does one go to Imax, etc in this age of Netflix? Folks can easily go to specific websites to watch movies for free or purchase a Fire TV Stick.

What about the green spaces that would be affected, if at all? What about the noise from the construction work? Wouldn’t the animals be affected by the noise and dust? Did anyone really think this decision through, or has the kickback process started already with a general election due next year? Were zoo officials involved in the decision-making process?

I could be wrong, but with $56 million many roads and schools could be repaired. Perhaps the money (well, not all of it) could have been allocated for the zoo staff if they need more resources for research or medicine, etc.

I admit parking is an issue but to spend $56 million for those upgrades is insane. There is an abandoned building next to the Botanical Gardens that can be renovated and more toilets could be installed there, but please do not take away our green spaces – and think about the effect the noise will have on the animals.

Sigh, TT, sigh!

J ALI

Port of Spain

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