Attention to details
Details are those pesky little things that make grand announcements that much trickier to establish and project. I have often looked at issues which face this society with an open mind and sought to look past the headline for the real meat within any topic. So let me look at a few of these hot burning issues now and see if that meet the measure of the optimistic tone which some seek to establish and project them in.
One is the South Coast Sewage project. Everytime I think about this project and how it was used by some within this society to attack the previous Minister responsible under the last Administration, I smile and think that the level of scrutiny which surrounded the challenges associated with this project has disappeared with a declaration that the problem has been fixed. What exactly has been fixed?
Efforts to pin down how this much vaunted solution to the ongoing issues within the project have been muted as officials continue to dance around the status of the works within the issue.We know that pipes have been built to propel what is generated from the homes and businesses serviced by the project further off our coastline. What we do not know is what is the status of this pipe-laying process, what is the cost and how long will this ‘solution work’? We also do not know what is the status of the new transfer/treatment facility which had to be built to replace the one which was outdated and faced significant challenges with the types of and volumes of untreated waste which came into that facility. That was the unfortunate and what turned out to be political fallout from the attacks on the project. It was clearly established that the project had to be refocused and adjustments had to be made to facilitate the growth of the connections to the sewerage systems beneath the South Coast and the fact that developments had occurred over the years where villas, and other tourism accommodations had been added to the system creating an overwhelming situation.
The types of items dumped into the system, including towels, fats and grease and other things not designed for a dump overwhelmed the system. The filtration underground of salt-water from sea water erosion and heavy seasonal rains created a challenge since those aforementioned items do not mix. That did not meet the political dynamic of the time.
The previous government was slow to explain the challenges to the public and the Opposition jumped all over it. Some were on radio every chance to point to bubbles and puddles as what was a national challenge was reduced to a political attack ad.Hoteliers around the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary started to complain about the smell as effluent was dumped in the swamp and some argued about the sluice gate being opened to release buildup from the swamp of brackish water.
From the little geography I am aware of, the ocean cleans itself and any water would be cleansed by the tides, particularly at Worthing Beach. However, the moniker of ‘it has been fixed’ continues to be used. What has been fixed?
A tax has been put in place to generate income to foot the bill for upgrades to the South Coast Sewage Project and the Bridgetown one as well. Where are the updates? Why has a tax, which has been in place since 2018, not been updated in terms of its collection and usage? What is the cost of the ‘fix’? Has the cost been met and if it has, why is the tax still in place? Oh, yea, it is also to fund the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA)? Why has the burden been placed on taxpayers, who already pay income tax and placed on a resource which every Barbadian has to use… namely water, but yes we have fixed an issue and created another tax in tough economic times.
Now on to the announcement related to the changing of Zone 1 status. Are we serious? Some residents who have squatted on lands which are Zone 1 and deemed critical to protect the water supply, are now seemingly being accommodated with this new policy which must be explained. I could be a political cynic and look at the constituencies of St Michael East and St Michael Central for an answer as those battles are normally fierce and competitive, but let me leave it at that. What will government say to those who have bought lands in approved areas and now those who knew that they were occupying lands which were not theirs and now government rewards them?
Finally a quick word on the report on the damage to the reefs from cruise ships docking off our coast lines during the height of the pandemic. We were treated to a full court press on Barbados being a designated home port and that we were doing our duty to help those ships in need at these uncertain times…blah, blah blah.
Now with the implications and long-term costs being revealed to the coral reefs of the west and south west coasts, what will those who bragged say now? This is damage which will take generations to repair but when concerns were raised, they were dismissed.
Much like concerns about the debt trap we are are slowly sinking into with the extreme borrowing, then bragging about foreign reserves. Loan after loan...not grants... loans – meaning we owe.What about high gas prices, increasing electricity costs, channels on MCTV not showing, food prices rising dramatically, people still being treated like prisoners and being subjected to ‘stay at home Sundays’ with a COVID-19 positivity rate where Government wanted it to be for months, businesses closing, yet the response from some in power has been flippant, seemingly forgetting that they answer to ‘we the people’. Looking at Ministers touring areas where they were like ghosts for months should open your eyes, unveiling stuff, taking questions, being photographed speaking to constituents...if you do not smell elections in the air – check yourself.
Remember that the next time, really soon, when they come around looking for another vote. Barbadians have a new slogan ‘We have been watching yuh’. Ignore the glossy introductions and look at the details for your answers.