LIKE MANY OF YOU reading, I have been making an effort to follow the sewage situation plaguing residents and commuters on the South Coast. Honestly, it was very confusing trying to follow the various comments from Government ministers, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA), residents and the Opposition.
I didn’t know who was telling the truth, who was being genuine or who was using the situation for political gain.
The sewage and sewerage situations alone were hard for residents and the country, but poor communication and management of the situation were what was most embarrassing.
I am still at a loss as to why the main spokesmen on this issue were the ministers of tourism and health. Where was or is the Minister of the Environment and Drainage? I fully understand the involvement of Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy and Minister of Health John Boyce as the situation affected various sectors including, but not limited to, tourism, health, business and transport.
We heard also from the minister responsible for water resources and even from the parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Education, but no word from Minister Denis Lowe, who is responsible for the environment and drainage.
“If your great aunt died and left you a mahogany dining room set, but one of the chairs had a broken leg, eight years later when I come to your house, I don’t expect to find the chair still has a broken leg, neither do I expect you to tell me that’s how you got it. The dining room set is now yours, so fix the damn chair so that when people come to the place, they can sit down. It should be a point of pride for you to regale guests with stories of how you had the chair restored, and the rest of the set, after the condition it was in when you got it. No sense of personal or national responsibility except to self. It [was] immature and pathetic!”
The above statement is not mine, but the writer was able to use this analogy to express my thoughts of the Government’s mantra and chorus – “it’s the Barbados Labour Party administration fault”.
Garbage, water issues, the economy, road conditions, education, sewage, Civil Service, Transport Board, unemployment, you name it – “Blame the BLP”. I am not saying it is or isn’t that party’s fault; actually, I really don’t care. As the Government, you have not just the responsibility but also the opportunity to show your competence and fix the problem.
The BWA communicated that the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. would be funding a $2 million repair programme to “replace four effluent pumps and 18 diffusers that had been severely affecting the sewerage system”. Here are my concerns or questions:
1. The $2 million is to purchase new equipment to replace defunct ones, but there wasn’t any mention of extra parts or equipment in case of a fault.
2. At no time did I hear any cost to support maintenance. Additionally, is there a maintenance plan?
3. Since there will be an upgrade of the sewage system, will there also be an update of the early warning systems?
4. Mention was made to the regular flushing of the system and divers to clean the existing diffusers. I am interested in knowing if these two activities took place on a regular basis and if not, what the limitations were.
5. Given that the public had no idea that the sewage system had malfunctioned three years ago, I would encourage the BWA to give an update on the condition of the Bridgetown sewage plant and the challenges, if any, that are present. We wouldn’t want a repeat of the South Coast situation.
7. I have been wondering, if the Opposition didn’t speak of this issue last year and then raised it again (I think in October), would the Government have “taken action”?
On another note, some areas which contributed to the flooding during the “Tuesday rains” haven’t been cleared. For example, the canal close to the Globe Cinema flooded. I passed there recently and took a look to the north (the entrance) of the canal and there is still a lot of large debris present. Where possible, can this be addressed as well as other areas in need of clearing? Let’s be proactive.
• Corey Worrell, a former Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, is director of C2J Foundation Inc., a project-based NGO focusing on social development. Email: coreyworrell@gmail.com