#BTSpeakingOut – Eliminate squatting in Zone 1 areas

The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Michael Ray

The highest praise, commendations and acclamation is in order for the two parliamentarians who intervened in what has been recently described in a section of the Press as a sub-division of land in exchange for money.

However, the parliamentarians involved should not stop at simply resolving the matter and protecting their own political future.

There is need for action to eliminate squatting in the Zone 1 area where the Belle pumping station is located.

Squatting in that Zone 1 area has the potential to cause contamination of the island’s potable water supply.

Every effort should be made to prevent human faeces and other contaminants escaping into our underground water supply. Such a possibility is likely in locations such as Licorish Village and Bellevue that are void of modern sanitary sewerage systems and located in Zone 1areas.

Unfortunately, any passage of legislation to change that Zone 1 area to a Zone 2 will not mitigate the contamination of our water supply. There must either be a relocation of the residents or the construction of a modern sewerage system – maybe both.

In the absence of an up-to-date sewerage system to accommodate increasing residential lots in close proximity to the Belle, our water supply stands at risk of being further compromised.

The parliamentary representatives for St Michael East and St Michael Central would be well advised to use the power of their offices to protect the health of their constituents and others living outside and beyond that Zone 1 area.

While the interests of the constituents and their representatives must be protected, the wider interest of “constituency Barbados” must be protected from any possible contamination of its potable water supply.

Since year 2015, Sustainable Development Goal Six (SDG6) has been on the radar for far too long. With COVID-19 variants rampaging across the globe, we cannot sit idly by and allow an epidemic of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and malaria to further decimate our people and our economy.

A plea goes out to our parliamentarians to take swift and strong action against this likely threat.