MP Caddle turned to private sector for community centre help

St Michael South Central Member of Parliament Marsha Caddle has revealed she had to hit the streets to seek sponsorship for the refurbishment of two community centres in her constituency after repeated failed efforts to get help through the State.

And the government MP has reminded Minister of Sport, Youth and Community Empowerment Charles Griffith and his public officers of the important role that ministry plays in leading the development of youth.

She told the minster and his department leaders sitting in the Well of Parliament for the annual Estimates that after repeated queries and submission of requests that her team had to go the route of seeking private sector support for the work on the pavilions at Gully Hill in Carrington Village and Valery at Collymore Rock.

She reminded the team that the National Sports Council (NSC) has a very serious responsibility for the development of sport, the engagement of young people, the maintenance of structures and the promotion of social cohesion and social capital.

Caddle said in the past six months, she and her team in the constituency have undertaken their own “refurbishment and reintroduction of programmes” to the two pavilions.

“They have been undertaken with donated materials 100 per cent and 100 per cent of volunteer labour. The reason we undertook that has to do with the challenges we had with the maintenance of those facilities by the National Sports Council,” she said.

She recalled that she and Griffith examined the conditions of the facilities in August last year but there was no action before November when they were “forced” to begin the renovations on their own.

“We got no traction,” she said.

Caddle questioned the minister and his team on a plan for refurbishment and maintenance work on pavilions and community centres for the upcoming financial year.

“What part of that – and with what execution plan – is dedicated to the regular surveillance, maintenance, and refurbishment of pavilions in Barbados?” she asked, referring to the $19.4 million allocated to the NSC in the 2024/25 Estimates.

“I know we are very excited about mini stadia, but let us start where the beginning is,” she cautioned.

Caddle, Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, also wanted to know what human resources were available to the sports council for the work that would need to be carried out at the pavilions.

“What is the scope for engaging artisans from the communities where these pavilions exist,” she asked.

In response, Griffith said the government inherited the pavilions and community centres in a state of disrepair and have had to remove light poles, because they were rusty and unsafe.

“The pavilions are another situation…. We have started the process. We have a fixed maintenance schedule. We are going from pavilion to pavilion to do repairs that were in a state of disrepair for more than 20 years.

“The truth is monies are allocated,” he explained, noting that the ministry is not oblivious to what is needed at the pavilions to make them fit for purpose,” he said.

Director of the NSC Neil Murrell also told the session that the council’s work was affected by cuts to the budget of $13 million last year.

“We had a significant cut in maintenance. However, the NSC still worked with many of the pavilions in terms of trying to repair them. We also worked with some of our partners. We are challenged on one hand with heavy cuts in our maintenance budget but at the same time we still work assiduously to ensure that maintenance is still carried out on a regular basis.”

NSC Senior Supervisor of Works Nicholas Matthias said the research was carried out on all 70 pavilions in the island and a report prepared which would prioritise and identify facilities for repair over time.

Caddle said the children who wished to play sport and access their centres could not do so safely. She also had concerns about the opening hours at the pavilions and the working hours of the staff and urged the sports council to revisit this and consider having posted on each pavilion the opening times for the facility.

“That would go a long way to help people understand what they can expect and how they can expect to be served,” she added.

Caddle suggested that the NSC implement a charter which would outline a standard of service to communities. 

(SP)