ON HIS dying bed Prince Albert Lynch left one message for his nine children – to make sure that they continue to fight Government for his house.
And even though they are still in mourning over their father’s death all nine children are determined to do just that.
Eight years ago, Lynch, who lived with his children at Dash Valley, St George, in a six-bedroom bungalow, had his life disrupted when officials at the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) told him that they would have to relocate his family to make way for the expansion of that road.
Though reluctant, the elderly man and his children packed up and left the house he built for his family after Government promised that it would rebuild a six-bedroom house for him at nearby Lower Burney, St Michael.
The family was given two Government units at Country Towers, St Michael, and promised that their home would be rebuilt in three years, but it is now eight years and Government not only failed to fulfil that promise but also reneged on several other promises made to the family.
Prince Albert Lynch and his children went to Government every month for the past eight years enquiring about the construction of their home but two weeks ago Lynch, 76, died without ever being compensated.
His angry children, Prince Albert, 42, John, 40, Cecile, 38, Michael, 37, Antonio, 35, Ramon, 29, Llewelyn, 28, Grevil, 26 and Abigail, 24, believe that never being able to get back his home contributed to their father’s demise.
“Dad used to go to MTW religiously once every month and all they would give him were excuses and the runaround. First they told us that they could not build the house at Lower Burney anymore because the land they had for us was given to about six other people. Then they told us that they would build the house at Haggatt Hall and we heard all sorts of excuses as to why the house ain’t build yet, including that the contractor run off with the money,” Grevil told me.
Grevil recalled that his father was so troubled by Government’s long delay in giving him back his property that it consumed him daily.
“All I would hear daddy say is that he want back his house. He would say so every day.”
The children recalled that their father, who worked at the Sanitation Service Authority as a garbage collector for several years, was a hard worker, who built the house at Dash Valley for his family.
Father and mother
“My father raised all of us by himself – he was both father and mother. The only thing he did not do was ‘nurse’ us [breastfeed] and he always said he wanted all of us to live under one roof. When they brought us to Country Towers and put us in two different units, dad was upset. And the units were very small and cramped,” Michael stated.
He said the arrangement by Government was that the family would not pay rent or any of the utilities.
“Two months after we moved to Country Towers, they told my father that he would have to pay the water. Then three years after we were living here the electricity was disconnected. We went to [Barbados] Light & Power to find out what was going on and they told us they could not give us any information because the electricity was not in our name.
“We met with officials at MTW only to find out that they had never paid the bill in all the time that we were living here and it was in arrears for over $3 000.
Antonio pointed out that the family ended up paying that huge bill after officials at MTW promised that they would be refunded but up to this day that has never happened either.
“It hurts us to see that our father died without getting back his house. We can’t understand how Government can do this to someone. We are vex and upset and we do not intend to move out of these units until Government gives us back our house. We will keep fighting,” Michael stated as his siblings all voiced their support.
When contacted, Chief Technical Officer at the MTW, Frank Thornhill, reported that he was aware of this matter as well as another involving Dash Valley resident Etheline Spooner, who also died without getting back her house.
He stated that because the parties had passed away the matters were being handled by MTW’s legal department.