Mr. Mark Cummins
Permanent Secretary
Ministry Of Transport, Works and Maintenance
The Pine
St. Michael
May 22, 2019
Dear Mr. Cummins
Please accept this 5th letter only by email
Sir, With no acknowledgement from you to date, from my 4 previous email letters to your official email address at MTW&M, and due to the facts that as a victim of obvious unprofessional behaviour towards me from Officials at MTW&M in general, and in particular the obvious unfair manner in which MTW top technical officers treated and continue to treat my legitimate complaints. I am advised to make this 5th request for redress.
Refer to the four email letters sent to you with the circumstances pertaining to the placing of a private road across, within, and along an original watercourse bed, in which the act was carried-out by a British Expat for a purpose that ended to create a private road which effectively resulted in creating the risk of flooding. Such actions and results were acknowledged in 2004 by the holders of responsibilities for watercourses at MTW. CTO Frank Thornhill, and Deputy CTO Philip Tudor, whose verbal statements confirmed the contravening of “The Prevention Of Floods Act Cap 235”. Yet the watercourse has not been fixed to date. Therefore obstructing the illegal private road that redirects flooding to my property already the cause of damages and continue to pose a risk to my household.
Sir, I reiterate my property adjacent to the watercourse has never flooded from an overflow of the watercourse during the years 1978-2002 I have resided here since 1982. The clarity of the facts as to how Clarke’s Road residential area became a flooding area, happened in 2002 when British ex-pat, Pat Brayshaw, commissioned the services of heavy duty equipment to illegally level a very vital part of the watercourse defined banks, and cut a road across the watercourse bed, to her lot on the North. Months later, further illegal calculated changes were made to the watercourse, by building up a boulders wall, out to her land mark, in the middle, and along the watercourse bed, and then backfill. That process clearly narrowed the watercourse, blocked the original exit of that straight part of the watercourse, and provided an increase of built up level land within the watercourse to formed a yard-cum-private road.
Sir, The wall of boulders along the middle of the watercourse bed became the new North bank to give favourable protection to the British Ex-pat side of the watercourse, while the cut-out from the south bank became a road across the watercourse bed above my home. Such illegal calculated altering of the watercourse were acknowledged by Officers of the Drainage Unit, as an “encroachment” that will certainly cause flooding. The first flooding did happened months later when the flow from rains leaked from the cut-out south bank. The narrowed watercourse obstructs and redirected spread flooding over my adjacent property on the south, caused erosion damage to my open backyard, front-yard, and made Clarke’s Road the new watercourse.
Complaints from 2003 to the Drainage Unit for over a year has been a waste of time. As Officers have advised, Drainage is not equipped with the necessary equipment to remove the boulders and remedy the watercourse. In 2004 the responsibilities of “The Prevention Of Floods Act cap 235” resided with the CTO of MTW, who happened to be CTO Mr. Frank Thornhill, (up to his retirement). He had the power to execute or authorise an Officer to execute flood works to remedy such an illegally created flooding situation. As stated above Deputy CTO Mr. Philip Tudor who would have acted as MTW CTO have also held those responsibilities. Both Top Technical Officers acknowledged my complaints and pleas by verbally stating that it is illegal to place a private road across and within a watercourse. they pledged to removed the boulders, and remedy the watercourse. But obvious prolonged inactions to remedying, and what followed, showed otherwise.
While the two Top Technical Officers prolonged what seems to be concerted inactions to remedy the recurring flooding situation. The broken and narrowed watercourse was severely altered and made worse due to an obvious biased process, carried-out when laying pipes for BWA, by Arthur’s Construction. Mr. Arthur purposely placed the pipes into a part of my backyard that was damage by recurring flooding from 2003. Mr. Arthur clearly reposition the watercourse into that part of my backyard, and made it appear as the original watercourse aiming at my home, and Clarke’s Road Residential Area. Mr. Arthur told me I can’t tell BWA where to lay pipes. After I had a conversation about property conversion with the Barbados Ombudsman, and then Mr. Arthur, he said all he can do is to ask BWA to build a protection wall for me.
The illegal flooding situations were clearly the results of a contravention of the law that MTW CTO held the responsibility to remedy. The two top Technical Officers, prolonged inaction to the extent where an obvious lack of attention from them seems to be that the wrongdoings at the watercourse are all right, as long as the illegal private road remained. My observation was confirmed when I asked MP for St. James Central, Hon Kerrie Symmonds to intervened, His effort only went as far as to set up a meeting at the watercourse site, without his present, both Top Technical Officers or others MTW Officers were unavailable for the meeting which turned out to be an exercise in futility. Base on the facts that MTW is responsible for watercourses, and to remedy after BWA completed a task.
Mr. Roy Morris published article stated what he envisaged the flooding situation would be after he witnessed that part of the watercourse. Another reporter Maria Bradshaw of the Nation, and last but not least, the widely read Barbados Underground all highlighted the unjustified allowing of an illegally placed private road across, within and along a watercourse that created flooding situations of which officers at MTW&M knew. Yet ignoring my household to the extent where the situation is extremely worse, the only path on my property adjacent to the illegal private road still has dislodged boulders after complaining to Pat Brayshaw, Drainage Unit and MTW. Further illegal contravening action by Mr. Clarke in removing the watercourse defined banks from the road across the watercourse to upstream where the flooding emerges, the area on the north is now driveway and garden, the south side is almost flattened.
The obvious continuing disregarding of the danger pose to my household, can only be the preconceived notion of MTW, Top Technical officers that a blue-collar working class Barbadian must only complaint, This notion supports the non responses from MTW. The two Top Technical Officers and Officers under their authority would have had to concur with the actions in 2012-13 of Hon. George Hutson, DLP, MP for St. James Central, the PS, and Minister of MTW, also, leading up to the 2013 General Election so that MTW workmen could and were tasked to paved the said illegal private road of the British Ex-pat, under the watchful eyes of the Hon. George Hutson.
Regardless, of the acknowledgement and confirmed contravening statements of the two top Technical Officers in 2004 pertaining to the illegal placing of the private road that created recurring flooding situations, and the verbal pledged to removed the boulders and remedy the watercourse. The two Top Technical Officers clearly revealed their agreement with aiding and abetting by authorizing the retention of an illegal private road.
After the retirement of CTO Frank Thornhill. CTO, Mr. Lovell continued to disregard the regulations of “The prevention Of Floods Act Cap 235” pertaining to his legal responsibility, concerning the illegal altering of the watercourse. Top Technical Officers knowingly refused to this day, to carry-out the required necessary floods work to remedy what caused the recurring flooding situation. By doing such, MTW&M Top Technical Officers continues to deliberately discriminate against my household.
Sir, I request an urgent redress.
Your faithfully
Alden Blackman
Resident of Clarke’s Road, St. James.
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