The PDM wishes to publicly express its thanks to God for the safety of our residents as we experienced the effects of Hurricane Joaquin. The damage experienced to property was minimal and we urge the Government to assist where it can in providing relief to those who have experience loss and damage to and of property.
We then wish to thank all of those who played a critical role in what was a sudden storm that shifted suddenly, grew rapidly and left meteorologists mesmerized. We continue to be grateful to essential staff for their work during this time. We also wish to praise the efforts and work of Fortis whose linesmen and call center staff worked around the clock to restore power to areas that lost power connection. We cannot and must not ignore the sacrificial service that takes these men and women away from their families and often times at risk as they serve.
Firstly we wish to use this opportunity to urge our residents to be prepared and remain prepared during this season. Though it is still predicted a slow season, we can recall from our own experiences during the passage of Hurricane Ike that it only takes one storm to create a disaster. It is therefore important that we make preparation for possible storms and seek to secure property and lives.
There were many lessons that we can glean from this recent experience and it is our hope that we will seek to improve where systems may have failed which resulted in unnecessary anxiety among our residents. We have had cause to be concerned but none more than what gave rise following the Premier’s Press Release and his subsequent Address to the Nation on Saturday afternoon.
We were disappointed but not surprised about the Premier’s usual approach under pressure and that is to cast blame on civil servants. It was only last year after the passage of TS Cristobal, we were forced to ask him to apologize to the EMS staff who were straddling in water away from their families for days. As he did then, he has done it again and that is to pass the buck in what is now characteristic of his leadership. We are sorely disappointed in what we see as acts that continues to demoralize the civil service. We believe that persons who need to be held accountable should and likewise the Government who has admitted that its disaster system is heavily reliant on a single person should also be held accountable.
Nonetheless, by the Premier’s own admission, despite the calls from the PDM and DDME to build internal capacity, increase resources and pay attention to critical Departments like DDME, he has failed to and he has now had to see how important it is to do so. We have on a number of occasions over the past two years called for Disaster Management Legislation and now that it is before us, the PDM has already spoken to the need for manpower and additional manpower. We must recruit and build this Department and increase the numbers of technical staff so that the reliance that this Government has placed on one person can be a thing of the past.
Under the reactive leadership of the Hon Dr Rufus Ewing, we were left more confused and if his goal was to pass the buck from him and incite an understandably frustrated public, then he succeeded only partially on the latter. At the end of the day, the buck stops with the Premier and his Minister who remains missing in action. The Government has first failed us and they must be held into account. The people of this country elected them and they must see the folly of their ways and do what we, the PDM have asked for over the years, build internal capacity in critical departments like DDME.
We have also had an opportunity to view and hear official accounts of damage around the Islands. Our immediate concern is the clean – up of Governor’s Beach and the rebuilding if possible of its eroded portions of the Beach and the state of Front Street. We therefore wish to call for an immediate undertaking to address Front Street as we did as recent as the Budget Session and then shortly after by bringing awareness again during the Demonstration outside of Parliament a few weeks ago. The erosion happening over time became more and more evident over the more recent years. Our calls to address the road as a matter of urgency were ignored. We believe that the extent of the erosion must be assessed as soon as possible as we believe that the Buildings on Front Street can eventually become compromised if not already should we continue to ignore the extensive work that must be done. This matter will call for a full Study, not a quick fix but it must be commissioned with urgency.
In the remainder of the Islands there is need for a cleanup and we note the Premier’s approach for a cleanup of Grand Turk and Providenciales but wish also to draw his attention to Salt Cay that has no real manpower in the civil service and while the community is always ready to assist, it is important that in this time, it receives assistance with the cleanup and also the coastal damage done. In South Caicos as well, there is a need for cleanup and efforts must also be made to address their need as there has been no movement in this regard. In Middle Caicos, the Causeway remains a concern to us and we believe that this is again another opportunity to review our approach to how we should proceed.
I wish to encourage all residents to do what they can to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes and hence the spread of chick v and dengue.
Again we are grateful for the safety of all our residents.
