EDITOR, The Tribune.
My name is Carlton Zonicle and I have been a resident of Zonicle Hill, Cat Island the majority of my life. As a concerned citizen, I would like to discuss and receive a response from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works, Philip “Brave” Davis regarding past and potential construction works performed on Cat Island. It is also worth noting that Mr Davis is the Member of Parliament for Cat Island.
The first issue regards the reconstruction of 1.8 miles of roadway and 500 feet of Sea Wall from the areas of The Cove to Smith’s Bay. This contract was originally bid at $1.8m and awarded to Mr Ezra Russell during a “competitive and vigorous” bidding process on August 22, 2013, and was to have a duration of 120 days. On April 23, 2014, a press release was issued stating that after a site visit by MOW among other agencies, the budget had been increased to $2.4m.
After 230 days, all works had stopped and the job was abandoned by Mr Ezra Russell. There are deep holes undermining the sea wall, and no further work has been done to repair the 1.8 miles of roadway. In truth, the roadway is in worse shape than before the contract was awarded. When will work resume to “fix” the problems that were never fixed, how long will that take, and how many more dollars will that cost the Bahamas? Most importantly, why was this allowed to happen?
There were also statements made by Mr Ezra Russell stating that 18 residents of Cat Island were employed during this job. I disagree with this number in that at any given time no more than eight-ten persons were seen working on this project.
The second issue is Mr Ezra Russell is now sharing with residents of Cat Island that he is in the running to be awarded the contract to rebuild the New Bight airport.
No one else on Cat Island has been told that they have a chance to have this same opportunity, why is it that just Mr Russell knows about this? Who would allow this man to do any more work on this island when the work he was paid for hasn’t been completed? Again, we as Cat Islanders are in search of answers.
CARLTON ZONICLE
Zonicle Hill,
Cat Island, Bahamas,
January 20, 2015.
Comments
duppyVAT 9 years, 2 months ago
Is Carlton Zonicle a PLP or FNM???????? ........... thats how it rolls in the Family Islands these days. And in a few cases the guys are so good at playing the political game that they get jobs from both parties. The PLP is stifling local initiative and growth in the Out Islands and only relying on foreign direct investment . e.g. Bimini, Exuma, Abaco, San Salvador & Eleuthera. The other islands are slowly dying either because of politics or government/investor disinterest
asiseeit 9 years, 2 months ago
Friends, Family, and lovers. Transparency International can kiss my grits, corruption is rife in this crooked little country! The people of the Bahamas, ALL OF US, are the ones that get the short end of the stick for the advancement of............FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND LOVERS. Do not mind party, they are both just as crooked. The political elite and their crony's are PARASITES sucking the blood out of the Bahamas.
CatIsland342 9 years, 2 months ago
On January 14th 2015, a town meeting was called to discuss the future of economic development on Cat Island. We the residents of Cat Island immediately took action, starting a petition requesting plans for economic stimulus which would include the rebuilding of the New Bight Airport that was promised to our island in 2008. This was then sent to our member of parliament, Mr. Philip 'Brave' Davis, with over 450 signatures. It is our understanding that Cat Island will never flourish without an adequate airport. We are unaware if there has been any response. To view the the letter sent with the petition, visit:
Cat Islander First, We Live here!! Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/71546...">https://www.facebook.com/groups/71546...
by CatIsland342
Sickened 9 years, 2 months ago
Contractors are not required to finish the work stated in their contracts. These contracts are awarded merely for MP's and cronies to receive money. Based on Mr. Russell's track record he is certainly a contender to receive many more contracts throughout the Bahamaland because he obviously knows how the game is played. Now that BoB is more scrutinized, I foresee many more of these smaller contracts to be handed out. When one source of cash runs dry, simply go to the next source. This is 'PLP Ethics 101'.
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