(PRESS RELEASE)
The National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) is dispelling some information that has been circulating in a video via facebook about the recovery efforts on Barbuda.
The content of the video posted on “Barbudian Daze”, entitled “Barbuda March 2019 Status Report”, which was shared by the Barbuda Council and other Barbudan groups, is misleading.
The video claims that the Barbuda Council was responsible for repairing the airport terminal building, which is not true. Work was done under NODS recovery programme utilising government and donor funding. A Barbudan contractor erected the fence, while repair work on the building was done by an Antiguan contractor along with workmen from the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force and Cuba. Another Barbudan Contractor, who was employed by the Barbuda Council, supervised the work. NODS challenges those responsible for the video to prove otherwise.
As it relates to repairs to other buildings like the hospital, the post office, the environmental health building and the police station, NODS notes that these are all being repaired using donor funding and government has no control over the donor’s internal processes.
One million US dollars have been made available by the Indian government to complete the Hanna Thomas Hospital and the Post Office, which is being managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Barbuda Council is fully aware of this and has been part of discussions with the UNDP and the government.
The Council is also aware that work on the Chinese
Community Centre and minor repairs to the Council Office are being done through
the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) with funds from the Canadian government.
Government has no control over the CDB or UNDP’s procedures.
With regards to the Police Station, the building has severe structural damage and may have to be torn down. The Council is also aware that repairs are being carried out through a small grant funding from the Canadian government to fix the Zabeth Handicraft Centre to house the police. This building could have been completed had there not been a shortage of windows. The windows have since been purchased and installed while the electrical work is now being carried out.
The Barbuda Council did repair the Day Care Centre. What was a two-storey building has been reduced to a single storey structure as the upper floor was severely damaged. With regards to the secondary school, some repair was done and the classroom that was blown away was replaced in partnership with Samaritan’s Purse. Concerning the Holy Trinity Primary School, an assessment was carried out and NODS was advised that the structural integrity of the building was compromised hence the government erected temporary structures at Low School, which is close to Holy Trinity, to accommodate the students.
The Agriculture Building, which is to be rebuilt, and the Lands and Planning Office, which is to be repaired and will take a greater effort to be completed, will be part of the second phase of the recovery operation.
Director of NODS Philmore Mullin makes it clear that as a result of government’s decision to build back better on Barbuda it will take time and the situation is made complex due to the level of structural deficiency discovered on the sister isle that has to be corrected before going forward. Mullin says misinformation and misleading statements being made in the public have caused some donors to back away from providing any assistance hence he is calling on individuals to act responsibly when circulating information.
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“Mullin says misinformation and misleading statements being made in the public have caused some donors to back away from providing any assistance hence he is calling on individuals to act responsibly when circulating information.”
How often the Prime Minister warned them about this. But they prefer to play cheap politics and now see what happens.
And when the PM calls them “deracinated imbeciles” they get offended. But that is what they are. Th truth may be hard but it is still the truth.
Cheap politics? Over a year and a half after IRMA hit Barbuda and to date ZERO government buildings have been repaired by the government. We cannot get full accounting of the money donated. Meanwhile the same government is taking advantage of the peoples situation to take away their land. Not because you support a colour means you must be blind.
Get ya blasted facts together please. Yall have a effin PM who wa play dictator and take away the people an dem land and building an airport without their knowing and consent. Until u skirt go to Barbuda and see exactly what is happening dont make no more comments bout the people dem. Sickening to ma damn stomach.
All these repairs NODS are now attempting to answer are the same ones that should have been repaired before Barbudans were allowed back in significant numbers with DONATIONS money that was already in the account. Please stop your crap and tell the people where the 9 million in miscellaneous spending has gone. And when you have some time….let the nation know there is talk in high places that the 250 million that it would take to rebuild Barbuda that was so passionately expressed by the PM was reaceached twice over and these monies are possibly the same source of funds that have been used to bankroll the country to date.
We want our fng money mullin I done work for it…ooh u run come chat bout video misleading but u not talking about why we haven’t been paid…
Tell Mr. Mullin to go visit Dominica.
Good thing they accused, so we could get some explanation.
I thought Trevor Walker had the master plan once he successfully completed the cecession process? Didn’t he say he was going to initiate “divorce” proceedings??? He seems to have it all figured out. I guess his gas station will make up 10% of the soon-to-be-independent Barbuda with Trevor Walker as King, Premier, President, and PM.
With this mentality no wonder after thirty years Barbuda is still under and un-developed. If you leave them alone they will remain as if living in the stone age
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