The head of the Urban Development Commission (UDC) says it is not the same institution it was in 2008, and the current administration is not responsible for works done on a well that collapsed on Monday.
Director Derek Alleyne made the comments yesterday during a press conference at the commission’s Bridgetown offices, following comments made by Barbados Labour Party candidate for St Michael West, Bishop Joseph Atherley, in which he questioned the competence of UDC staff and the quality of the contractors hired.
It came after 29-year-old Alicia Stowe fell 25 feet into a suck well on her property at 2nd Avenue, Thomas Gap, President Kennedy Drive, St Michael, when the cover crumbled underneath her.
“The whole folly of this thing is that well was constructed in 2005 when the gentleman making the outrageous statement was Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, and he was the representative for that same constituency,” Alleyne charged.
He said that when he took up the top post, there were 180 contractors, which had now been reduced to 20 who all had a skill.
Compliance officer for the UDC, Cyprian Yearwood, said he was hurt when told the news of the well cover crumbling.
“One of the first things we did when we started out in 2009 was that we had sessions for our contractors . . . . We generated a written specification of works to be done. When we are handing over work, whether it is a well contract or house contract, our project works team must meet with the guys and go through this,” he said.
Yearwood added that all of well covers must have steel inside and usually carried reinforced bars at the corner, as well as bars that went around the edge of the hole and along the cover itself.
“This particular well has no rebars, and what would have happened is that the cover would have just been sitting on the galvanise that would have been used as form work. It was good for a little bit, [and] it then rusted and caved in . . . . UDC officers work closely with contractors; everything is inspected, and photos of the work placed on file,” he said, adding that there were no photos of that well in particular on file.
Alleyne said that when he saw the reports of the well, he was alarmed. He said that wells constructed before 2008 would have to be looked at and that was going to cost some money.
“It’s alarming, but we still have to be careful . . . . In 2016, the Ministry of Health called and complained about some poor drainage problems in 2nd Avenue, Thomas Gap, and we constructed nine wells in that same area to the tune of $46 649, including other works . . . . And I can swear that not one of those well covers will fall,” he said. (RA)
