By FAY SIMMONS
and YOURI KEMP
Tribune Business Reporters
VILLAGE Road businesses yesterday slammed the Ministry of Works as “total disappointment” for failing to respond to fix property and sidewalk damage caused by the year-long roadworks.
Michael Fields, spokesperson for the Village Road Business Collective, which represents area businesses, in a statement said the road’s current state “suggests someone is used to accepting low standards and expect all of us to as well.”
Contrasting this with the Ministry of Finance’s willingness to provide tax relief and an economic stimulus for persons impacted by the roadworks, he added: “
“The Ministry of Works has been a total disappointment. They have had little respect for our good faith outreach and have been completely non-responsive. We’ve written e-mails. Requested meetings. Asked for a communication liaison, and nothing. Now, they’ve put tar on the road and are celebrating the project’s completion. Someone is used to accepting low standards and expect all of us to as well.
“Drive down Village Road and see the state of the sidewalks and people’s properties and businesses. See the quarry, the dirt, the mud and the damage they’ve left behind. And now they are packing up shop and asking us to be silent and grateful as if the job is done.
“The job is not done, and we need accountability. The project representative can speak to the media, but the Ministry can’t speak directly to business. They are touting the project’s ‘completion’ in the media, claiming only minor signage, striping and traffic lights are left. But what about the clean up? What about the sidewalk restoration? What about the restoration of damage to properties and businesses?”
Mr Fields compared the Ministry of Works to the Ministry of Finance, asserting that the latter had met with affected businesses and committed to an economic relief package. “Their actions stand in stark contrast to the Ministry of Finance who have met with us twice in the past two months and have committed to a registration process that will allow eligible businesses to benefit from the final economic relief package,” he added.
“The process is moving slowly, but the dialogue has been active with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the financial secretary’s office. As far as the Ministry of Works, we are once again requesting a meeting. Sweeping the road is not the equivalent of cleaning up. And it is certainly not leaving people’s properties in the state they found it. Actions speak louder than words, and so far they’ve shown disdain for the residents and businesses of Village Road.
“As a business community we have bent over backwards to be fair, understanding, accommodating. And now, 13-months later, the disrespect is remarkable. Sadly, Bahamians have come to have low expectations, and will likely have to do like most businesses, make it work in spite of the mismanagement, in spite of the Ministry of Works’ lack of concern. We are asking for proper consideration and for the Ministry to complete the job properly.”
Mr Fields, who is also president of Four Walls Squash and Social Club, told Tribune Business that the Ministry of Works has effectively been “stonewalling” their efforts to obtain compensation for damage done to business premises by the prolonged roadworks.
The road is now fully open for traffic from the Bernard Road junction heading to East Bay Street, and he added: “We’ve been trying to get in touch with the Ministry of Works but they have been stonewalling us and they’re actually not even responding.
“In terms of some of the things we have asked the Ministry of Works to do - from the pavements out front to removing all of the dirt and the sand, we have been getting turned around in circles.”
Mr Fields continued: “We are asking the Ministry of Finance for a number of concessions and we promised to give them some time, but basically we want tax incentives such as property tax, Business License relief. We’ve also asked for grants to help businesses fix up their premises from all of the dust.
“On the Ministry of Works side we have had two responses from minister (Alfred) Sears in terms of letters and so forth, but we haven’t been able to have a meeting with them and they have been less responsive. The utilities is an issue and some businesses are still without telephone and some have partial restoration.
“Water has been in and out but it is starting to improve. We are in the improvement stage, no doubt about it, but there is still a lot of clean up and a lot of dust and a lot of damage to the pavements that needs to be addressed.”
Albrion Symonette Jr, resident engineer for the Village Road Improvement Project, earlier this week told reporters that paving of the road was complete. It only remained for contractors to do minor works, including the installation of signage and repairing sidewalks that may have been damaged during construction.
He said: “We’ve achieved substantial completion on the Village Road Improvement Project, which means that we have completed the contract pavement. So, the underground works are completed, the pavement works are complete. What we have left to do includes striping work, signage work, as well as traffic signals so our intention is over the next few weeks to install the signage, install the striping, install signals, and to also ensure that we reinstate anything that was damaged during the course of the work. So sidewalks, curbs, walls and such were damaged.”
Commenting has been disabled for this item.