There has been a war of words, accusation and counter accusations between former Minister of Finance under the Keith Mitchell led New National Party administration, Anthony Boatswain, and Prime Minister Tillman Thomas over the proposed construction of the Port and Marina project in the northern parish of St. Patrick. Boatswain, who is also a former Parliamentary Representative for the St. Patrick’s West Constituency, is believed to be the one who originally envisaged the development project for the town of Sauteurs. He has blamed the Tillman Thomas administration for failing to proceed with the project. Boatswain claims that the Chinese Government had agreed to fund the project and that parliamentary approval had been given. Prime Minister Thomas, however, has dismissed Boatswains claims about the proposed project and claims that the past administration had never made any application for the finance. The Port and Marina Project for St. Patrick’s is seen as one that can result in the creation of employment opportunities for people in the rural parish and can stimulate economic activity in the area. In a recent poverty assessment survey, St. Patrick’s was identified as being the poorest parish in the tri-island state.