One Bermuda Alliance candidate Ras Mykkal has expressed concern over Pembroke Hamilton Club’s failure to pay principal on money it borrowed from Bermuda Industrial Union.In 2001 the BIU loaned PHC $1.2 million to cover expenses to install a new lighting system and resurface the playing field at Stadium Lane, Warwick.The loan was to be paid back over a 17-year period through rental income from PHC’s Reid Street building.But more than a decade later PHC has yet to pay principal on the loan.And this, says Mr Mykkal, is totally unacceptable.“I can understand if we went through a really, really difficult time like the Great Depression where nobody’s benefiting,” the Warwick South Central candidate added. “Somebody needs to explain why haven’t PHC paid any principal on the $1.2 million they borrowed from the Union eleven years ago?”After PHC borrowed money from the BIU the club successfully negotiated a 20-year lease agreement for $1 million with Esso for 20,000 sq ft of land to be set aside for a gas station at their Warwick ground.Esso subsequently leased an additional 2,000 sq ft of land for $125,000 to bring the total amount of the lease to $1,125,000.Club documents indicate that the “monies for leasing the property had all been fully paid”.Mr Mykkal questioned the whereabouts of the money PHC received from Esso which he suggested could’ve been used to pay off the BIU loan.“I’m not saying they have to use that money to pay back the Union, but I think that would’ve been a smart thing to do,” he said. “I’m just a little curious as to if they have received it and what it was used for and where is it?“I think somebody needs to answer the question where is the money that was received from Esso. It may be in an account but somebody needs to answer.”According to a PHC statement, “PHC accounts are managed and prepared by a qualified CMA and are accessible to all financial members and stakeholders”.“PHC has and will continue to consistently review its financial status and commercial operation and present the membership with options to ensure that it is sustainable,” the statement added. “However, we will not contribute to the court of public opinion but we will work for the betterment of the Pembroke Hamilton Club.”PHC held a meeting at the BIU last week to explore means of generating revenue to pay off debt and improve the club’s financial standing.But according to Mr Mykkal, some of the questions raised from the floor went completely unanswered by PHC and BIU President Chris Furbert, whose leadership has come under intense scrutiny lately.“I had a conversation the other day with one of the members who was at the meeting in regards to PHC and they said it seemed that some questions that were being asked were going unanswered,” he said.PHC embarked on an ambitious three-phase development plan to upgrade its sporting complex at Stadium Lane, Warwick in 2000.The first phase entailed resurfacing the playing surface and installation of a new lighting system which has been completed.The second phase of the development plan involves the construction of a multipurpose facility that will seat as many as 2,500 people and include a health club and a youth club.The third and final phase entails the construction of additional changing rooms and seating on the eastern side of PHC’s Warwick ground.To date PHC have yet to secure funding for this phase of the project.Club documents reveal that PHC were seeking to borrow between $10 million and $11 million from HSBC to finance the project. However, the bank was only willing to lend $8.5 million.According to a Government source, PHC rejected requests from the bank and Government to downsize the project and accept the money HSBC was offering during negotiations to secure a loan to finance the project.PHC are reeling from the $164,250 they were forced to write off after the tenants of their Reid Street, Hamilton building, Total Home Ltd, went into liquidation and their contract with cellular provider M3Wireless terminated.PHC President Mr Furbert denies claims that the Union are on the verge of calling in its loan to the club.Mr Mykkal believes that PHC could’ve avoided the predicament they are currently in through better planning.“It’s very unfortunate that PHC are in a very difficult position as to whether they can continue as a community club or start losing their assets,” he said. “They still owe the $1.2 million to the Union and are having great difficulty in paying the interests, which I understand is somewhere between $200,000 and $400,000 — and that’s not a good position to be in.”