Leonardo Blair, Enterprise ReporterFormer Ministers of Housing, overseeing the nation's interests for nearly two decades, are distancing themselves from the flooding fiasco that rendered two entire communities homeless after heavy rains pelted the island recently.
While it is clear that 'Govern-ment' approved the development of both communities at the flood-prone locations, it is still unclear as to who made the final decision to move ahead with the developments, despite evidence that the communities were flood prone.
As investigations continue into the circumstances behind the massive flooding in Nightingale Grove, St. Catherine, and Kennedy Grove in Clarendon, during Tropical Storm Wilma in October, former Environment and Housing Minister Easter Douglas says he does not remember signing off on the Kennedy Grove project.
not denying anything
While not denying that he signed off on the now infamous development, the minister claims in a recent interview with the Enterprise team that he was not the only former Housing Minister who oversaw the process of approval and development which started as early as 1994.
"I want to see the approval document that was (reportedly) signed by me. All I want is to confirm. I am not denying anything, I just want to see the document," says Douglas.
The former Housing Minister claims that two other former Housing Ministers, Karl Blythe and O.D. Ramtallie, would have had dealings with the project, based on the timeline of the development. However, these allegations were flatly dismissed.
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"There is a contract and it shows when the development was approved, all you have to do is to check the public records, that should have gone through everybody before me. All the dates that I saw were before my time!" says Blythe who became Minister in 2000.
"It didn't come in my regime at all! It's after I left in December of 1994. I had nothing to do with the project. It didn't come at all before me," explains Mr. Ramtallie on hearing the allegations. "If I had something to do with it, I would accept responsibility," he adds.
Mr. Douglas who appears to now be under some quiet fire from his own party, explains that when the project came before him, all the relevant agencies including the Ministry of Health, all the offices under the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the Clarendon Parish Council gave positive feedback on the project and it was based on these recommendations he would have signed an approval if he did.
A representative of the Clarendon Parish Council familiar with the project told Enterprise however, that their office does not grant approvals and the Minister at the time should know that. "All we can do is recommend. We can't grant approval, that rests with the Minister, but I am not into the blame game at this time," says the source.
Recent checks with the Prime Minister's Office about the status of the investigation were not positive and requests of NEPA for approval documents regarding both the Kennedy Grove and Nightingale Grove developments are yet to be granted. The Housing Order document for Kennedy Grove could not be located at the Ministry of Housing.
Mr. Douglas also denied he had advised Kennedy Grove Residents to sue the Government and the Developer of the housing project which Dean Peart, Minister of Land and Environment admitted should not have been permitted. The project was a joint project between the Government and K.I. D. Development Limited.
