Abrahams raises concerns
“Disgraceful!”
This is how Shadow Minister of the Environment, Drainage and Energy, Senator Wilfred Abrahams, has described the “recurring unsolved problem” with the South Coast sewage system, which has resulted in sewage periodically being emitted into the streets along Highway 7.
In a statement released earlier this week, Senator Abrahams said that to make matters worse, the authorities seem not to know exactly the reason for the overflow of sewage.
“Barbadians have been advised time and again that the problem has been identified and solved, and that these embarrassing and frankly dangerous occurrences are no more. The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) has previously identified as the problem – grease in the mains, faulty machinery, a faulty pump with no redundancy, negligent home and business owners, and most recently an aged system unable to handle both the sewage and the rain run-off. Sewage is again freely flowing on the streets in South Coast residential neighbourhoods and in the immediate vicinity of many popular restaurants and businesses,” he lamented.
With that in mind, the Shadow Minister said the Opposition Barbados Labour Party is not only concerned about the impact of this problem on Barbadians who live and work in the area, but about the implications this continuing situation could have on the tourism industry. The Senator contended that it is only by the grace of God that to date this country has been spared from an outbreak of cholera or another faeces-borne illness. Contending then that it is no longer “a minor inconvenience, but a major environmental and health disaster”, he placed on record a call for the BWA to remedy the problem in advance of the winter tourist season as a matter of priority.
“To hear that the recent identified problem has been one which existed for years, which the BWA has been ‘chipping away at’, is inexcusable... This potential environmental and health disaster not only
deserves but demands that the full resources of Government be brought to bear to identify and solve this problem immediately. Nothing less will suffice,” he maintained.
Abrahams said that while the solution may be costly, such costs cannot compare to the fallout from an epidemic and the drain on our health services if the worst fears are ultimately realised.
“This is a matter of governmental responsibility and accountability at the highest level, and this government owes the people of Barbados a duty of care to get it right, and get it right now,” he added.