Submitted by Stephen Williams
The story of housing since 2008, when the new government took over, needs to be trumpeted. It is a success story; and one that should leave the BLP hanging their heads in shame, after the mess they left at the NHC, Warrens, Coverly, Buckley, and the housing sector in general. Take a bow Michael Lashley, the Ministry of Housing and Lands, the NHC and the DLP! We are PROUD of your performance and achievements.
Look at the wonderful work done at Country Towers, Tweedside Road, Coverly, Work Hall, Ruby, Marchfield, Woodbourne, Foursquare, Six Roads, Lancaster, Cherry Grove, Vineyard, Parish Land, West Terrace, etc. Now, drive through Brittons Hill and look at the magnificent structures that have graced Valery and Forde’s Road – one word aptly describes them – SUPERB.
And, do not forget the 500 lot programme, the very successful $5 per sq. ft. low income land programme, and the NHC tenants of 20 years standing who have gotten their units free of cost.
This administration has built more housing units and came up with more practical housing solutions in 4 ½ years than the BLP built in their 14 years in office. In fact, what the BLP did can only be described as shameful and shocking – 48 housing units in 14 years – DISGRACEFULL. The hurriedly and ill-conceived plan by their Housing Minister at the time (“the cantankerous Liz Thompson”) to construct hundreds of low income chattel houses at $40,000 each, never got past the two poorly built show houses – aka the lady bird and the humming bird coops. On the other hand, this current administration, together with the private sector, is gradually reducing the long waiting list of prospective home owners; and doing it in a recession to boot. Wow!
Prime Minister Stuart, Michael Lashley, the NHC, the Ministry of Housing and Lands, RDC and UDC take another bow. We tip our hats to you. You have more than earned our respect and gratitude.
And, our detractors and opponents have the gall to ask what we have to show for 4½ years in office? Take that David Ellis, Patrick Hoyos, Peter Wickham, Albert Branford, Kaymar Jordan, Peter Simmons, Carl Moore, Harold Hoyte et al, your tag-team daily and weekly carping and offensive attacks cannot stand up to impartial scrutiny. You have long had an agenda that seeks to pull down the DLP and promote the BLP.
Where were all of you when the BLP was wasting VAT dollars, victimising civil servants and those private sector people who were not singing in Owen’s Choir? Where were you when Owen was riding roughshod over the opposition, the ‘negrocrats’ (Yes Harold) and the ‘indentured servants’? Where were you when our fishermen were fined and jailed almost monthly in T&T? Where were you when zone 1 lands were changed to zone 2 to accommodate and allow certain big-shots to build their mansions? Where were you when the Eastry House ‘dipsy-doodle’ went down? Where were you when OSA was publicly encouraging the establishment of gated communities to keep out the small-fry? Where were you when OSA was enunciating the sale of prime building land to foreigners to fetch the highest economic value?
Where you were when Arthur fired Rommel Marshall as a Minister, then brought back as a Consultant at the same MPW for a week, and then fired him again? Where were you when the QEH was in chaos, there was a lack of proper security (nurses were being attacked left, right and centre as they changed shifts at night), compounded with serious management and human resources problems as well as a shortage of nursing staff at the QEH after government refused to re-employ Barbadian nurses who were severed when that institution became a statutory body? WHERE WERE ALL OF YOU? WE NEVER GOT A SQUEAK FROM ANY OF YOU
Praise God for Freundel Stuart and the DLP. They have brought justice, conscientiousness, decency and honesty as well as true democracy back to government and the people. Yes, they might be short on PR, but PR is not reality; for the most part, the BLP’s PR is more about impressions, grandstanding, sweet-sounding rhetoric, dressed-up libs and veneer.
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