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Are Messrs Donville Inniss and Denis Lowe Aware the Inoperability of the Sluice Gate Adds to the Dengue Worry?

The following was posted on another BU blog by Nostradamus Nation Newspaper today Feb 14, 2013 front page headline  “Dengue worry”. Start of the story says “There has been a worrying spike in dengue cases so far this year. And the Ministry of Health views the situation so seriously that it has issued a bulletin…

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The following was posted on another BU blog by Nostradamus

Dengue Alert!
Dengue Alert!

Nation Newspaper today Feb 14, 2013 front page headline  “Dengue worry”. Start of the story says “There has been a worrying spike in dengue cases so far this year. And the Ministry of Health views the situation so seriously that it has issued a bulletin to doctors, reminding them to report any suspected cases of the disease.”

Further on it says the Ministry of Health stated in a release that among other things that it would maintain surveillance at various sites and one of those areas noted is WETLANDS.  Is the  Ministry of Health aware that the sluice has  not and is not  functioning and that there has been no effective wetland water level control in place for many years ?  No interchange of sea water and fresh water that is so vital to the health of the wetland and for a  vibrant fish population to control mosquitoes naturally?   When the sluice gate worked, it was possible  to raise the water levels and get water flowing through the canals.   Flowing water in the canals means fewer mosquitoes.

Have the Ministry of Health taken a look at the stagnant water (see photo above) between the sluice gate and the sand barrier?  Wouldn’t it be incumbent on them to use whatever influence they have to get Dr. Lowe and his Ministry to fix or replace the gate or implement some solution? Anyone in the Ministry of Environment or Health ever  heard of preventive methods or being proactive or even doing their job?  Now they will need to go into the swamp and use chemical measures to control and kill the mosquitoes as well as the fish that control mosquitoes!

Prior to the 2008 election Dr. Jerome Walcott of the BLP was not only the representative for the area (Ch Ch S) but Minister of Health and still the sluice gate was not replaced or repaired despite not functioning for several years.   On the BLP website under Dr. Walcott’s profile one of his “Visions” is to “To enhance the Graeme Hall swamp/wetland area”. Really? Maybe he would like to elaborate. Nothing on John Boyce’s DLP profile page to show what he is planning for his constituency in the event that he is returned to Parliament.

So it seems that whether it is DLP or BLP neither of them have the capacity or ability or will to resolve what really is quite a simple problem.

16 responses to “Are Messrs Donville Inniss and Denis Lowe Aware the Inoperability of the Sluice Gate Adds to the Dengue Worry?”

  1. Nostradamus Avatar
    Nostradamus

    @ David
    “Prior to the 2008 election Dr. Jerome Walcott of the DLP”

    Can you edit the above in the penultimate paragraph to read BLP and not DLP.

  2. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    We should not have to be discussing this but it is a prime example of what is wrong with Barbados.

    We have well qualified professionals in the Ministry of Health and at the Coastal Zone management Unit.

    Exactly what do these people do at work every day?

    That is why some are calling for privatisation.

    barbados has a problem with “Indifference”. not Incompetence.

  3. Nostradamus Avatar
    Nostradamus

    The GHNS press release below dates from July 2009!!!!

    Sewage Operations Threaten Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary and Wetlands
    Bridgetown, Barbados – July 9, 2009 – contact

    Low water levels caused by an inoperative government-owned sluice gate at Worthing Beach continue to cause mosquito infestations at Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, according to Sanctuary officials.

    “The water either drains completely or is stopped up,” said Stuart Heaslet, representative for the Sanctuary. “There has been no effective wetland water level control in place for many years.”

    Low water levels in the wetland have caused stagnant ponds to form in the drainage canals. Stagnant water is a haven for breeding mosquitoes, including the malaria-carrying anopheles mosquito. As a result, the Sanctuary has been forced to use insecticide pellets to control mosquito populations.

    “Years ago we were able to control mosquitoes naturally. When the sluice gate worked, we were able to raise the water levels and get water flowing through the canals. Flowing water in the canals meant fewer mosquitoes not only for the Sanctuary but for the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Heaslet.

    Despite the already high chemical pollutant levels in the wetland, the Sanctuary has been told by the Ministry of Health that insecticide pellets are increasingly necessary because of the unpredictable wetland water levels.

    http://www.graemehall.com/press/releases/sluice-gate-failures/index.htm

  4. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    The residents around that area must be suffering in silence. They should protest outside the Ministry of Health, Drainage and the PM’s office block traffic in the area to get their point over. These Ministers are full of crap and don’t give a hoot about the health of Bajans and Barbados. The long talk about preventative medicine is just Bullshit!

    Imagine that the health inspectors are visiting your home and telling you that you can be charged for harbouring mosquitoes and the government is getting a free pass. Only in Bim!

  5. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Perhaps this is what the PM means by a greener Barbados.

  6. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Looks like Donville was too busy barber greening roads in his area to notice this, I passed through Bim recently and it was a hive for mosquitoes attacking, day time as well as night. If I was Inniss I would stop boasting about resurfacing roads in my area and focus on the health factor regarding the Aedes Egypti mosquitoes that are deadly, that’s what I would do as minister of health.

  7. H Jason Jones & Co Ltd Avatar
    H Jason Jones & Co Ltd

    At H Jason Jones & Co Ltd we retail a product called Mosquito Barrier. It is all garlic juice except for the preservative, and this is also non‐toxic and is
    designed to be diluted in water, at a ratio of 3 ounces of mosquito barrier to a gallon of water.
    It will repel mosquitoes, flying insects, fleas and ticks. The product is not designed for direct
    application to humans or animals, but it is safe to be used around bees, butterflies, fish, birds,
    cats, dogs and other small animals.
    This diluted gallon can be sprayed on plants, grass, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, ornamen

  8. Fractured BLP Avatar
    Fractured BLP

    At H Jason Jones & Co Ltd we retail a product called Mosquito Barrier. It is all garlic juice except for the preservative, and this is also non‐toxic and is
    designed to be diluted in water, at a ratio of 3 ounces of mosquito barrier to a gallon of water.
    It will repel mosquitoes, flying insects, fleas and ticks. The product is not designed for direct
    application to humans or animals, but it is safe to be used around bees, butterflies, fish, birds,
    cats, dogs and other small animals.
    This diluted gallon can be sprayed on plants, grass, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, ornament.
    ——————————————————–
    Hi Jason Jones,
    Can this product be applied to Owen Arthur……since he is an exception to the other species identified above ?

  9. Check-This-Out Avatar
    Check-This-Out

    islandgal246 | February 15, 2013 at 12:00 AM |
    Perhaps this is what the PM means by a greener Barbados

    Fractured BLP | February 15, 2013 at 1:41 PM |
    Can this product be applied to Owen Arthur……since he is an exception to the other species identified above ?

    Keep on lightening things up – at least until the 21st

  10. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    islandgal246 | February 14, 2013 at 11:54 PM |
    The residents around that area must be suffering in silence. They should protest outside the Ministry of Health, Drainage and the PM’s office block traffic in the area to get their point over.
    ………………………………………………………………………….
    Bajans protests? you must be joking, Why do you think that time after time the same politicians play us for fools and not a peep out of our mouths. Why do you think that the real forners,come here from Europe and outside the region, and kick our asses from breakfast till supper and not a peep out of our mouths. We are DLP, a Docile Lot of People.

  11. Peter Jilkes Avatar
    Peter Jilkes

    Fractured BLP

    It won’t work on him. The only that will kill him in the will be CORRUPTION. It is currently being applied to him in very generous quantities and H Jason Jones predicts, based on manufacturers recommendations, he be dead by next Friday.

  12. St George's Dragon Avatar
    St George’s Dragon

    But we know why the sluice gate is not fixed – it’s because Peter Allard (the Canadian owner of Graeme Hall swamp) wanted it done.
    He didn’t make himself popular with those in power, so the gate doesn’t get fixed. Simple,

  13. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Mind boggling, I have witnessed Bajans protesting only when one of their own gets promoted and they did not like that person, if one of their own start a lucrative and successful business and they did not like that person, if one of their gets a good job, sudden wealth, a new house or land, or if one of their own gets any good opportunity………………….BAJANS ONLY PROTEST IF ONE OF THEIR OWN…………………………

  14. Nostradamus Avatar
    Nostradamus

    St George’s Dragon
    “But we know why the sluice gate is not fixed – it’s because Peter Allard (the Canadian owner of Graeme Hall swamp) wanted it done.”

    I have heard that but is he in danger of getting dengue? Is his home in danger of being flooded out?

    When local citizens and visitors see the condition of the gate, the walls of the canal falling in and the garbage in the canal is it an embarrassment to Allard or Barbados?

    Is he the contracting party to the Ramsar Convention on wetlands or the Barbados Government and people on April 12, 2006? http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-about-parties-parties/main/ramsar/1-36-123%5E23808_4000_0__

    “The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. ”
    http://bajan.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/are-messrs-donville-inniss-and-denis-lowe-aware-the-inoperability-of-the-sluice-gate-add-to-the-dengue-worry/#comments

    The Ramsar mission

    The Convention’s mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.

    I haven’t read the BLP and DLP 2013 manifestos but I am sure they will be full of the usual hot air about the environment and of course the GREEN ECONOMY but in this day and age they can’t fix or replace a sluice gate that years ago (1920) was built, maintained, and used by previous generations of Barbadians to manage the flow of water in and out of the wetland.

  15. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    I understand this guy Allard and a few people in this government had a falling out years ago, so because of the childish behavior nothing well get done and the people in the Graeme Hall area will die from dengue fever. Now do you believe any of these governments really care about their own people???,if you do believe that, I have a couple bridges in Brooklyn to sell you.

  16. Green Monkey Avatar
    Green Monkey

    Oh well, let the tourisses staying in the St Lawrence or Worthing area start coming down with dengue and maybe we might get some action then, but I still wouldn’t count on it (except for more hot air from the politicians’ mouths and maybe a few million dollars to the BTA to advertise abroad that Barbados is still a safe, tropical-disease-free destination for a winter get-a-way).

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