BLACK RIVER, St. Elizabeth:
PEOPLE'S NATIONAL Party (PNP) Councillor for the Balaclava Division Rodney Barnes has lashed out at Minister of Water and Housing Dr. Karl Blythe, saying the Minister should apologise to Councillors for delays in delivering two-inch pipes to the various Divisions in the parish.
The Councillors unleashed their anger at last Thursday's monthly meeting of the Council.
Mr. Barnes questioned the integrity of the Water Minister in relation to promises made to the Councillors. He added that he has pursued every possible avenue to get the pipes promised to his division but was told by the district manager of the National Water Commission (NWC) that the pipes were out of stock.
Mayor of Black River and chairman of the Council Daphne Holmes supported Mr. Barnes, noting that she has been accused of lying by her constituents because she had told them that the pipes promised to the division were approved and would be delivered.
"I am not going to let anybody tell me what to say about this one because the pipes had arrived in the island and we were told that the respective divisions would get a certain amount. However I don't know what is happening," the Mayor said.
Both sides
While Councillors from both sides of the political fence felt that they were being disrespected by the Water Minister and the NWC district manager, at least two PNP Councillors were upset that the blame was being placed at the Minister's feet.
Mr. Barnes also called on the NWC district manager to resign because he has misled most of the Councillors about the pipes. He would only withdraw his statement about the Minister, he added, if the NWC district manager resigned.
Mrs. Holmes, after the meeting, told The Gleaner that she was concerned about when the pipes would arrive and that the Council would continue to follow up the matter which was of urgent concern to everyone.
Councillor Hubert Baker, while not blaming anyone specifically, said the problem was one of communication and that the way forward was to have the parties come together to deal with the matter.
