Mr Emmanuel George should not be taking fever grass tea for Mr Jack Warner's fever. Mr George is a civil servant turned politician. It is best he takes off his bravado politician's hat and go back to being civil. He wears this hat better. Having turned a civil servant again, Mr George must do the following three things:

• Since none of his predecessors did a cost-benefit analysis of the Debe to Mon Desir highway project, he must now account to the public and tell us the real costs of this Mon Desir to Debe highway. And don't keep repeating the mantra of that other politician, Dr Carson Charles. Dr Charles's figure of $2.1 billion is false because costs will be more than twice this. He must account to the taxpayer and give a complete breakdown of costs

• Mr George must take a serious look at the Debe to Mon Desir highway. Does it really bring connectivity to the communities in the Oropouche Lagoon districts. Assuming it does bring some connectivity to Penal and Siparia, the Prime Minister's constituency, do we have to destroy and scatter 13 communities, 300 homes, 13 businesses, over 150 oil wells, thousands of acres of agricultural lands and cause permanent flooding in these districts? Are all the destruction, sacrifice, hardships and economic and financial costs worth it? If Mr George himself cannot determine this, he should establish, after consultation with the various interested stakeholders, a committee to guide him

• Mr George should set up an audit committee to audit the entire highway project, accounting for costs already spent since 2005, for example, legal, surveying, consultancy and certification costs, which could easily be hidden or ignored

• Mr George should sit down with the ex-

perts in the Highway Re-route Movement

and genuinely study their re-route option

from Debe to Mosquito Creek North.

In short, Mr George must not be doing State business to suit the fever—or pathology—of Mr Warner. He must adopt a methodical, logical and scientific stand in governance.

Sumiah Khan

Chaguanas