Residents of St. Mark's are unhappy over what they termed, wanton wastage" for political expediency in one of the poorest parishes on the island.
GRENADA TODAY was taken on a tour of a number of villages in the northern parish where various projects were undertaken by the Parliamentary Representative, Dr. Clarice Modeste-Curwen.
One of the projects that is of major concern to some residents is the Day Care Centre on Upper Queen Street, St. Mark's.
The facility was built about three years ago with the intention of placing a library on the top floor.
However, when the decking was being constructed for the second floor it caved in because the building was said to be structurally unsound.
This newspaper was told that when work was being done on the day care centre, the children were temporarily moved to the downstairs of the pavilion at Alston George Park which recently received refurbishment work in the tune of over $400,000.00.
Ironically, like the day care centre a portion of the second floor of the pavilion caved in late one night into an area where the children are housed."Thank God, the children were not in (the building) when the flooring caved in," one nearby resident said.
It is alleged that the collapse of the flooring was as a result of too much weight from the books on the temporary structure placed there as a library.
Residents within the vicinity are upset that those two substandard work took place at a time when the island is struggling to make use of its scarce financial resources.
They have accused the Parliamentary Representative of seeking political mileage without giving proper consideration to the issue of value for money.
According to the residents, the wastage is largely due to political patronage due to the giving out of the jobs to people who have no idea of construction but merely support the ruling New National Party (NNP) administration.
GRENADA TODAY also visited the Alston George Park where there was visible signs of more wastage of money.
At an area called The Villa, a retaining wall that was constructed just over one year ago to keep up a walkway is now being washed away by the gushing river.
Residents indicate that "a major technical problem" had been detected with the wall.
It was pointed out to us that because of the failure on the part of the persons who were given the work to create a proper foundation, the wall is being washed away thus causing the land to erode gradually which now pose a safety hazard to the playing field.
"If you had, for instance, a competent person, he would have been able to put down what was necessary to ensure that money is not wasted. Political patronage does not give that necessary vision to see things are done properly," one villager said.
Our team was also taken to Diamond where moves were afoot to construct a bi-road.
The residents claim that no proper preparation was done in terms of putting in drainage but binders were placed on the road way by those who got the contract.
When the rains fell, the binders were washed away onto the public road creating yet another public hazard.
The residents of Coast Guard say that many homes in the village
are without running water and rely on the lone stand pipe in the area.
The stand pipe is at an elevated location which makes it difficult for the elderly people to have easy access to collect water without encountering some difficulties.
Additionally, the community centre at Coast Guard which is used as a Pre school is another concern for the residents.
The roof of the building is in a dilapidated state, and according to the residents when it rains, buckets have to be placed inside the building to collect the raindrops. There are also reports that the building has no proper toilet facilities for those using it.
And some villagers in St. Mark's openly questioned the lack of vision and understanding of their Parliamentary Representative, Minister Modeste Curwen.
GRENADA TODAY was informed by a representative of the Coast Guard Development Organisation (CGDO) that a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) came to their assistance to provide them with seven computers for use by the community.
He said that funding was sought to construct a computer lab which started just over one year ago.
The member spoke of Modeste-Curwen making a promise to assist with additional material for the computer lab, but, according to him, she has so far failed to have the project completed.
"We could have come together and do the thing, rather than making it political," another member said.
The organisation says it has already received seven computers which are being housed at a popular business outlet in St. Mark's at a monthly rate of $1,000.00 which is being paid by Modeste-Curwen.
The CGDO members have noted that the money being paid for housing the computers there could have been used to complete the computer lab.
