UBP on Wall: ‘Cronyism & Favouritism Continues’
Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, Shadow Minister for Works & Engineering, said “The revelation that Works & Engineering staff is doing major repair work on a wall owned by former Premier Brown says the cronyism and favouritism practiced so shamelessly by the former Government continues today.”
Yesterday [Dec 14] in the House of Assembly, Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said he had been contacted by area residents who wanted to know why public funds had been spent to have a crew rebuild a wall situated on private property over a weekend. The wall in question is situated on the Brown Darrell Clinic property, which runs parallel to South Shore Road near John Smith’s Bay. Works Minister Derrick Burgess said the repairs were necessary in the interests of public safety, adding: “Dr. Brown has agreed to pay for that wall.”
Ms Gordon-Pamplin continued on to say that “It makes no difference that Dr. Brown says he will pay for the repair work. Clearly, his commitment to do so was made only after the public outcry.More to the point, why was Works & Engineering staff fixing a private wall in the first place?”
“Has Government changed its policy? Is the public now able to get Works & Engineering to fix repairs at private homes? Can people get their own walls fixed? How about driveway paving? Landscaping?”
“The most shocking side of this sorry mess is the Government’s insensitivity to the economic crisis that is hurting big and small businesses across the island. By agreeing to fix Dr. Brown’s wall, the Government took business away from small contractors who could have used the work. Dr. Brown and Works Minister Derrick Burgess, who is also the Deputy Premier, should apologize to the public for this specific “oversight.” Further, to hear Ministers trying to defend an indefensible position with distortion and spin is shameful.”
“Beyond them, the Premier has once again allowed bad practices to happen under her watch. It is inexcusable. We note she did not comment on the situation when she had the opportunity to during Monday’s House of Assembly sitting. We urge her now to step forward as the Government leader to explain how this unacceptable situation came about.”
“The most shocking side of this sorry mess is the Government’s insensitivity to the economic crisis that is hurting big and small businesses across the island.”
This is the reason the economy will not get better.
Anyone care to Adopt-A-Wall…??
I agree and public works should have not taken on this job. There are manny mansons out of work right now and that job is being done by gov. workers that is making a weekly pay check. Public works should have told him no, we need to get our people back to work so we can get out of this mess.
FYI: W&E regularly fix walls on the boundaries of private residences in the interests of public safety. And in most cases the owners do not dish out a dime for their new walls, unlike Dr. Brown has done here.
If it was continued to be left to the lack of action of the owners, walls and hillsides would regularly be in our streets and roads. W&E has had to block of private roads due to this inaction as well.
Look at the road on top of Pet Care and Party Plus on South Shore Rd, Smiths. That hillside is continuously being undercut and eroded. I’m sure anyone can agree that the road looks hazardous to travel on, yet nothing has been done by the landowners to fix the wall, leaving W&E only to block access to the road for public safety.
And W&E also clears back miles of road side trees and hedges originating on private property. Isn’t that the place of the landowners to make sure that their trees are within their boundaries and not a potential hazard to drivers and pedestrians? Yet this goes unspoken of until someone complains about their overhanging trees being cut.
Are these all unacceptable situations, or only the situations you choose to comment on?
So true. I’d would’nt want to see what this Island would look like if W&E didn’t do this.
You missed the entire point. The above fixes (you mentioned) are about safety and lack or will or money by property owners to make the necessary repairs. Ewart is clearly capable of hiring a private contractor to repair his wall. But I know if he could get away without paying for it then he would.
You put your own foot in your mouth with the Pet care/PArty Plus situation. The Govt refuses to fix that wall because it’s in a UBP held constituency. If the govt were that concerned about public safety then that wall would have been repaired years ago.
Bad example: Because that road was government property until it needed to be fixed (or so everyone thought). Which by the way is the biggest issue, who is responsible…… because it is suppose to be privately own road but the whole island has been using it for years. It was used as an access road to the hospital not to mention a thru way via Hermitage Road to Middle Road and at one time you could get thru to Green Acres and watlington Road. Give me a break I see a lot of thing that need to be done that don’t get done but the Dr. wants a new wall and it is a priority so lets drop everything and get it built. ON THE WEEKEND (OVERTIME) who is paying for the double or triple time just adds to the next layer of BS.
Why are W&E building the damned wall anyway go higher a contractor like the rest of us??????……
W&E clear the trees and send the home owners a bill….. they get paid and they butcher them.
This is absolutely not a public safety issue. It’s just another example of the PLP hierarchy effectively stealing from the taxpayers and abusing due process.
Looks like the former Premier got caught with his hands in the cookie jar. W&E (waste & expense) is the last organization to contract to get a job like this done in a cost effective manner. Any one of a number of small contractors could have the job done in half the time using half the labour at way under half the price. No secret there.
Keep on it Patricia. Get us the paperwork proving that Dr Brown pays for it. Don’t let him deceive you.
Lacky bartenders…defending the guilty as sinners!!!Wake me up when it’s over!!!!!
By the way, “WHERE IS DR. EWART BROWN !!!”
and still defending Ewart….amazing and the answer to the question as to his whereabouts? who cares as long as it is not here
Clearview and mixitup, Please when you wake up find the strongest cup of coffee you can get your hands on. Don’t you think for one second that W&E don’t bill people when they fix something for “Public Safety” if it’s on private property.
I wish some people would stop making excuses and see what’s really going on and that your excuses are allowing this behaviour to continue. It’s hurting us all. We have been and continue to be robbed blind. And for what? None of us have benefited from anything. Only those in Government have. As we are all lossing our job and struggling to pay the rent and the bills and have hours cut and paycheck cut. The gov still continues to make an outlandish paycheck and rob us on a daily basis. Cut your salaries and that might contribute to putting money back in the country. Get rid of you million and one GP cars that might help! what number are you up to now???? Until We are all out on the streets, you and me included this behaviour is going to continue and spending will continue. We have to cut left right and center but not them “LEAD BY EXAMPLE” is how it should be not “Do as I say not as I do” Can’t you see. Maybe even then it’ll be everyone else fault rather than the current powers that be that have driven this country into such a deep hole.
Also Sen DeSilva, can you do us all a favour and when confronted on a situation, can you please stop using the excuses of “So and so did it,” like my mom used to say when i was a child. If so and so jumped off a cliff would you do it too? GROW UP! Just because others do something doesn’t mean you should especially if it something that isn’t in good taste or just plain isn’t right and you know it!
What private person would deliberately employ W&E to fix anything – and on weekend rate too? Clearly Dr. Brown has been caught out here. The saddest thing though is that Bermudians will too let this pass. Just watch and you’ll see how this will die a death and he’ll get away with it. He got away with bringing the suspected terrorists here – so this should be comparatively easy. Bermudians are simply too lazy to stand up do anything about it in any significant number.
This too shall pass……
Yes the Obama administration released four suspected terrorists to come to our Island. Bravo you are one wise mamajama
When will Dr. Brown make good on his promise to reimburse tax payers for the improvements made to Gombey House once he decided not to move to Clifton … speaking of which, has the Government finally rented this property to recoup some of the millions spent upgrading it?
Yes. The Deputy Gov. lives there.
They are all the same, when will the people wake up!
The improvements to Gombey House were marginal. And he was the leader of the country! Plus, the government earned rent on the alternate property (Clifton) which more than offset the minor cosmetic / security enhancements. Why get all wound up over this? The wall on the Brown Darrell clinic, I agree with the general consensus here. Not a country expense, a valid expense of Brown Darrell trustees, of which Ewart is one. Although I voted for Zane Desilva in 2007 for Const 30, I absolutely deplore his comment – “what goes around comes around”. I did not vote him/Brown/PLP in so that they could have a turn at my and your pocketbooks…Absolutely deplorable that he would make such a comment. This I cannot defend.
Dr. Brown said he will pay the Bill. He also said he would pay the bill some years ago when W&E renovated the Flatts house, costing $150,000.