Jamaica’s Sports Minister Olivia Grange has given reassurance that Usain Bolt’s statue is near completion as she cited delays beyond their control.
Jamaica’s Sports Minister Olivia Grange has distanced himself and the ministry from the delays of erecting sprint icon Usain Bolt’s statue at the historic Water Square in Falmouth, Trelawny.
The project was announced a long time ago but there have been several delays, leading to questions about when the statue will be ready.
In an interview with Jamaica Observer, Grange revealed that it is nearing completion but people should not point fingers at the ministry since the delay was beyond them.
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She revealed that some resources needed to be shipped from overseas and it took time before they got into the Caribbean nation and that the fountain where the statue is to be mounted needed renovation and some of its parts were difficult to find in Jamaica.
“Some of the parts that were needed for the water fountain were unavailable and we had to source them from overseas and it took quite a while to get them,” Grange said.
“The delay was beyond our control… between procurement, sourcing, and getting here, it took a while.”
Meanwhile, things are now on course since the Members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and Trelawny Municipal Corporation are working together to build the fountain and ensure completion in no time.
Grange further noted that she visited the National Stadium with her team to check on the statue and revealed that things have now been finalised in terms of the measurements for the base.
The statue will now be moved to Water Square for installation. However, she did not reveal when that is likely to happen.
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“We are at the point of completion where the JDF is going to build the base and install the statue. I don’t want to give you a date. I want the process to be completed, that’s why I have not responded publicly because there are things that are out of our control, but the public and the people would not really understand,” Grange added.
“Yes, it’s good to communicate this but we were really hoping it would not have taken that long and so we just kept pushing and we are close to that point where it will be installed.”
The fountain which is being renovated will now feature eight spouts and two storyboards with one being of the legendary Usain Bolt who was born in Trelawny. The other will be of Water Square and will be placed at the fountain.
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Usain Bolt undeniably deserves the honour since placed Jamaica on top of the world in sprinting. He is the world record holder in the 100m and 200m and has eight Olympic gold medals and 11 World Championships golds to his name.
