South East Re-Connection Committee
Delices
19/04/2023
Honorable Rayburn Blackmoore
Minister for National Security and Legal Affairs
Dear Honorable Blackmoore,
On the 10th death anniversary of our National Football Coach and Hero, Kirk Hector, along with his Teammate, and those Commuters severely injured in a tragic vehicular accident due to the treacherous road conditions of the Morne Aux Delices area, and with the fearful hurricane season approaching, the Constituents of Grand Fond to Delices would like to petition your assistance to bridge a gap in communications and momentum in resolving these Health and Safety, and Economic concerns for our Communities.
As recently as November 6th, 2022 Communities from Grand Fond to Delices were completely disconnected from the world, with no road access, no electricity, no telecoms for five days as a result of inclement weather conditions. This directly impacted access to medical and school facilities and employment/businesses. Two other recent road accidents left one man crippled and a woman traumatized with whiplash injuries, and two severely injured with broken ribs and legs during their commute on roads in Delices, where there were no street lights, and the overgrown brush made it difficult to navigate the road.
While our Community was pleased to see an immediate Public Works response to this recent accident, with the addition of a street light and a clearing of the brush, the roadways in our Communities have remained a health and safety hazard for well over seven years. The Morne Aux Delices roadways are landslide prone. In addition, Residents and Visitors of Delices and Boetica have been using a poorly maintained bridge to cross in and out of the Villages. The bridge was installed as a temporary connector seven years ago, and we await a permanent roadway access solution.
The good news is we have a proposed safer, shorter, alternative route via Petite Savanne. On January 21st, 2023 our Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, along with dignitaries from Public Works and Parliamentary Representatives of Laplaine and Petite Savanne met with the South East Reconnection Committee, which is overseeing the South East Constituents road health and safety concerns and advocating for the installation of the necessary bridge for this safer route. Drawings and costs were proposed, along with the identification of a bridge at Canefield that can be used. Since then we have not been provided a timeframe, nor indication of the installation of the bridge. This is now a potential emergency situation with the hurricane season around the corner, as our Communities easily become cut off economically, medically, socially and academically in the slightest of inclement weather.
Therefore, we are asking for our safety concerns to be given urgent attention, and would appreciate your intervention in seeking this assistance with the appropriate Public Works and other governmental agencies. What better action can be taken to honor our fallen National Hero?
We look forward to hearing from you, and would love the opportunity to further discuss these safety concerns with you in person. Thank-you for your prompt attention.
Best Regards,
