EDITORIAL: Not ready!
2017 will be remembered for being an active one in the Atlantic Basin, but it will also be remembered for the simple assumption – that some of our processes designed to mitigate the impacts of these systems are not where they should be.
There should be serious thought given to a press conference being held with stakeholders to speak to the public about the issues related to impending weather events and the procedures in terms of public dissemination of information, to ensure that panic and misinformation do not invade the public space.
The use of the word ‘invade’ is timely, given the nature of the nonsensical information which was released by some uninformed persons in our community. First it was the WhatsApp posting which insisted that the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) was turning off its pumping stations at 8 p.m., even before the real outer impacts of Hurricane Maria had impacted the island.
There were frantic postings in reaction to the incorrect post. The confusion resulted in a rush by Barbadians to catch buckets of the precious commodity. So what was initially a peaceful, albeit wet, Sunday evening, when the citizens of this country were thankful that the most damaging aspects of the hurricane was sliding along the same path as Hurricane Matthew almost a year ago, was transformed into panic, all because of an errant and incorrect posting.
The irony was that water supplies were interrupted around the same time, but that is also a cause for concern. How was that possible? How easy is it to affect the water supply chain in this country, if an unverified post, void of confirmation by BWA officials, was allowed to disrupt the peace and interestingly, the security of this country. Water is a right and any attempt by anyone to impact its delivery to paying customers should be investigated, and the full weight of the law should be brought to bear on anyone who caused this disgraceful series of events.
Respond to public’s concerns
The first task is for those who are in authority to respond to the concerns of the public. We should hear from the Minister responsible for the BWA, the BWA CEO and engineers to understand how this occurred. If confusion was on the public end, then the Police should get involved to find out where the message originated. If this confusion impacted actions internally at the BWA, then the Minister and the CEO need to answer for it. How can something like this happen? What measures can be taken to ensure that it does not happen again?
While the Minister is at it, can the public get an update on the work of the BWA? Projections are for a very good year – precipitation-wise, so the challenges with water delivery witnessed during the drought years should be corrected, but we need to hear from the Minister. We need to hear about the progress of the desalination plants in this country as well.
To the Emergency Management officials, you need to answer for the confusion over the Tropical Storm Watch requirements related to the public. Some were of the view that it meant a Government shutdown. All it requires is a simple press conference. This is not designed to blast anyone, but to ensure that we move this country forward on a sound yet prepared footing, when the next system threatens.