IF THERE IS one thing we are good at in Barbados, it is talking. We have been able at the national level to talk our way out of many of our challenges, but it appears that we are losing the battle to remain clear on when talk just will not cut it.
The inundation of our beaches with Sargassum seaweed is not new. It has been floating onto our sands for a few years now, and we have talked and talked about it, doing very little because it really did not impact the tourism sector.
People living in places such as River Bay in St Lucy would complain about the pungent smell that overcame the district, and after a while the National Conservation Commission (NCC) would dispatch the necessary equipment and crew and it would be removed.
Then long stretches of the picture-perfect East Coast were spoilt by the seaweed, but still nothing of consequence was done because, again, the impact on tourism was not overwhelming. When it got to the Crane Beach in St Philip, however, the people who matter apparently started to notice, but in the end the clean-up effort remained largely an undertaking of the management of the Crane Resort. After all, they were directly impacted.
Now, however, Sargassum has spoilt just about every South Coast beach as far north as the postcard sands of Needham’s Point, home to the important Hilton Barbados Resort, and the money-earning West Coast is next. And while all across the political landscape people are talking, one can’t help but get the impression they are addressing a problem that is coming – not one that is here.
More than a month ago general manager of the NCC, Mr Keith Neblett, told the DAILY NATION his agency had identified the correct equipment for cleaning up the beaches, presumably without compacting the sand and carting it away by the tonne as now obtains when “Bobcats” are used.We are sure most Barbadians would agree we are without doubt facing a national emergency. It is time for the Government to act as though it is. Maybe this matter should now be turned over to the Department of Emergency Management to coordinate a national response.
The Ministry of Finance must, even in the challenging circumstances we face, give the NCC the wherewithal to import the necessary equipment. Additionally, as said by all persons who have been engaged on this subject, the nature of the problem requires a labour-intensive response, and it is time to re-staff the NCC appropriately for the task by rehiring as many of the laid off workers as necessary – even if only for a specified period.
We agree 100 per cent with Minister of Tourism Mr Richard Sealy that in the face of this crisis we have to launch an education programme to prepare tourists for what they will see. Tourism-based jurisdictions in the United States facing the same problem have been doing so for months.
But in the end, it is our duty to come up with an urgent, practical response that removes the seaweed as fast as it comes it. It is not difficult if we deploy the necessary resources. We cannot ever forget that our guests don’t spend huge sums to come here for a lesson; they are coming for the perfect vacation – and if we can’t deliver it, regardless of our good intentions, they will go elsewhere.
Tackling Sargassum does not require rocket science or a university study. The average citizen does wonders on weekends with a garbage bag and a pair of gloves. Our national leaders just need to take the lead from them and get the programme going. We don’t see how a single right-thinking Barbadian could have a problem with Government spending our money to respond to this crisis.
