Barbados’ infrastructure is in a “woeful state,” and while the Government does not have the finances to deal with all the issues it will prioritize the critical needs, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has said.
She made the comment following a day-long tour of flood-affected communities following the passage of Tropical Storm Kirk. The system dumped heavy rain on the island over a 12 hour period — from Thursday night into the wee hours of Friday morning.
“The . . . truth is that we have found a deficit in the country’s infrastructure. Our country’s infrastructure is in a woeful state and we need to be able to deal with it. We don’t have the money to deal with all at once but we have to prioritize what we need to and between the various ministries we are going to go after it systematically.
“We also have some development work that we have to do with respect to loans that will be critical,” Mottley who was accompanied by several Cabinet Ministers and other officials told reporters.
She further explained that the biggest claim on public infrastructure was water and sewage, followed by drainage and roads.
“You can’t ignore [the] infrastructure for as long as we have been ignoring it and expect that it is still going to function in the same way. So when we say sometimes to people that we are focusing on needs, and not wants, it’s because we understand that the needs of the country in terms of public spaces is able to avert drainage problems . . . able to avert flooding . . . able to avert problems with the roads . . . . All of these things are as a result of a lack of attention to detail and not prioritizing how we spend public money,” Mottley added.
The Prime Minister who arrived in the country early this morning, after cutting short her attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, said her administration and other Government agencies will meet on Monday afternoon to get formal reports on the level of damage done by Tropical Storm Kirk.
“The problems that we have are not insurmountable but we have to deal with them. In some cases there were fixes that can be dealt with immediately by the Ministry of Public Works and the Drainage Division. In other cases we will have to assist those that have been very badly affected through the Government agencies that are set up to do that. In other cases we will need to have more medium term to long term solutions,” the Prime Minister said even as she urged residents to keep their surroundings clean.
“I want to be able to meet with Cabinet for us to discuss how we can have a better decentralized system where communities and households, and not just Government, can help us in this effort to be able to keep Barbados clean,” she revealed.
Mottley also disclosed plans for a “major national preparation exercise” when the 2018 hurricane season comes to a close.
“We are not waiting until next June because these things are affecting too many people and in ways that are substantive. So early in the new year we are going to have some . . . simulation exercises . . . .because the bottom line is that if we don’t take care of each other in preparing for this, then what happened in other jurisdictions will cause too many people regrettably to die. Most people don’t die from the water itself, they die from the consequences of it and then the other big problem afterwards is security. So these are the things that we have to get right,” the Prime Minister explained.(KK)
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i agree poor dale tried to look in charge and calling conference yet auntie mia came back like a wind and did exactly wat he did..doh..poor dale looked like a fool
cool urself harry..take a chill pull. stop trying to bully people into agreeing with u
harry u cant help it..u catch at everything..use ur common sense at least i have enough sense and most otherscas well to know u cant solve problems over night. but equally important is cheap or stuntsvabout being able to solve everything. u asked for the mandate bso stop gripping and do the job..u cant becso blinded that u catch atvevery comment harry my boy..u will getva heart attack attacking everyone who differs from u. who died and left u alone with brains?
Buh I dun tell wunnuh dat awready! Not so??
Bluff; Fluff and PRO Campaigns every which way you look. An wunnuh cahn hear a word 'bout wuh to expec going unduh de IMF..........We like dah singer:::::::::::::::We Up In De Air
If I was Dale Marshall and I would feel like a big fool, because i did do a good job with T.T. Hinkson: we stayed up late - in fact, we hardly sleep and went bout wawkin thru' mud and garbage and watta........................and as soon as dis, dis , dis...dis......... 'woman' lan back here, she pull all uh we @#$%^&* behind she so dat she could continue to parade and postulate tuh wunnuh dat she is de Prime Minista, like effin wunnuh din know. STUUUUUUUUPSE!
But wunnuh kno - wunnuh dun kno dat duh tekkin wunna fuh a ride. Wunna sailin in a sieve. Pick sense outta dat!
BUT! Wunnuh vote and she showing wunnuh, so doan complain.
IDWD
PATTY,what mind games are wearing thin ?...after less than 5 months ?...and suppose the masses see the fruit of those "mind games" in less than 3 years and 90 days what will you say then ? Rome was NOT BUILT in a DAY and the DEMOCRATIC LABOR PARTY DID NOT DESTROY BARBADOS IN A DAY either.
How can YOU from one corner of your mouth say " it will take time to do things" and from the other corner say... " stop the mind games..they are wearing thin"?...wha kind a garbled up talk is that ?...and are YOU also saying that their policies were MANDATED to be done in 5 months.
PATTY you started off WELL ,but you SLIPPED back into your usual STUPID MODE...by now you should be well entrenched in your SIGN LANGUAGE COURSES...hope you don't mistake them for KUNG FO moves.
Carl Husbands...the PROBLEMS..CANNOT..WILL NOT nor any NOT be FIXED IMMEDIATELY.
YOUR WORDS AGAIN..".For the same said 10 years that the DLP failed to correct the problems...".. big man....YOU are telling yourself that the DLP had TEN YEARS to fix the problems and COULD NOT GET THEM FIXED....YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE SAID.....COULD NOT GET THEM FIXED in 10 YEARS....but you are now TELLING YOURSELF that the BLP should have had them FIXED in 5 months..even PATTY from your clique has NOW come to her senses and realize that " it will take time to do things"
hmm. it will take time to do things but cud dear the electiond done stop trying to harp on the dlp...the electorate voted them out ..get on with ur mandate and stop trying to conjure up sympathy..u politicians think that u are the only ones who know psychology? everytimr talking bout the past administration! there is a reason there are the past administration..do what u getting fat salaries to do and stop the mind games..they are wearing thin... some apologist will soon respond
@CARl HUSBANDS: 100% Agreed. Is it Johnny Crow that keeps saying "con job"?
@Harry Turnover: For the same said 10 years that the DLP failed to correct the problems, the BLP, while in opposition, maintained that they had the solutions to the problems and only needed the opportunity to be elected Government to demonstrate their “prowess”, “agility” and “competency” in quickly resolving the country’s woes. Now that the people of Barbados have elected them what have they done ...created even bigger problems!!! The 30-0 result means that Bajans want SOLUTIONS and not SAD STORIES !!!
...and people like YOU didn't SHUT wunna EYES for 10 YEARS and 90 DAYS and led down ALL the roads....wasn't it OK to have supported your Party then too?
The other thing is I too FIRMLY believe that to make the most STUPID of comments is DEM yard fowls way of spreading their gospel.