By LARA PICKFORD-GORDON Wednesday, March 10 2010

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HEAR ME OUT: Sport Company of TT executive director Darren Millien gestures during yesterday's sitting of the Parliament's Joint Select Committee. ...

DARREN MILLIEN, executive director of the Sport Company of TT (SPORTT) yesterday agreed with members of the Joint Select Committee (JSC) of Parliament that the $2 million price tag for the National Flag at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, was too much.

Speaking before the JSC chaired by Arima MP Pennelope Beckles, Millien also said the public should have been consulted before the flag project went ahead.

On August 4, a proud Sports Minister Gary Hunt unveiled the nylon 60x36 feet flag which he said was intended to be seen from far away to instil in the people a sense of national pride.

When the furore over the cost of the flag arose and faced with the question of whether or not the flag cost $2 million, Hunt initially said he could not confirm the price but added that even if the $2 million was true, it was money well spent.

On Sunday February 8, in an address to the nation, Hunt admitted for the first time, that errors were made regarding the flag, errors he said, would not happen again.

Yesterday, the JSC met with officials of the Ministry of Sport in the Parliament Chamber with Millien saying: “Hindsight is 20/20 vision. When you are in execution mode trying to get things done as the Minister mentioned in his address, there were missteps.” Millien said questions could have been asked, such as, “Is this something that should be done now? Can it be deferred? Should it be deferred?

He said the flag was part of preparations for the Caribbean Games which were to take place in Trinidad and formed part of restoration of the sports complex comprising the Hasely Crawford Stadium and Jean Pierre Complex.

The Games were scheduled for July but at a press briefing in June, Health Minister Jerry Narace and Hunt announced it was cancelled because of the H1N1 pandemic flu virus.

Millien said the Sport Company was in execution mode trying to get things done on time and “not gauging public sentiment”. He said in hindsight this should have been factored into the decision to proceed with the project.

Millien made these remarks in response to a question from Senator June Melville. She questioned, “When you realised the cost of the flag was more than $2 million why didn’t somebody stop and think, ‘is this what the public wants’?” Melville said the idea was good but the cost was “somewhat ridiculous”.

MP for Mayaro Winston Peters asked Millien if he thought the government got value for money on the flag. “In terms of the actual construction I would say ‘yes’. If it had to be done again the process would pretty much be the same given where it is and conditions we encountered.”