Tackle that stinking problem now
VOWING TO put an end to what she described as a “stinking sore” issue plaguing children at a primary school as well as the residents of Greenwich Town in Kingston, Angella Brown Burke yesterday put the National Water Commission (NWC) on notice that a sewage station causing the community to hold its collective breath has to be relocated.
The opposition MP, who shadows the local government portfolio, told her parliamentary colleagues yesterday that the sewage station was unleashing an unbearable odour on children at the Greenwich Town Primary School and that the station was located close to the Caribbean Palms Housing Scheme, Boat Island, and the wider Greenwich Town community.
Brown Burke complained that raw sewage was taken from the greater Kingston Metropolitan Area and carried across the streets of the community, “dripping faecal matter all the way to the sewage station”.
“To make matters worse, when it gets to that station, it empties its contents into a hole, and the entire community has to hold its breath.
“Our students and teachers are nauseated, and learning is disrupted. Our community members have a hard time transitioning to prepare for the evening meal. Apart from the obviously unpleasant odour, this defies the most basic hygiene standards of a modern society,” Brown Burke stated emphatically.
The opposition spokesperson said that since she has engaged the National Water Commission (NWC) about the problem, the officers of the agency have been “nothing but professional and willing to engage the community at every turn”.
According to Brown Burke, the NWC has said that relocation of the facility is neither possible nor desirable. “Desirable for whom? The residents of Greenwich Town? I don’t think so,” Brown Burke charged.
The St Andrew South West MP said that she was “fervently committed to engaging the NWC on this matter, with full community support guided by technical expertise because I am determined not to allow that station to continue where it is”.