OPPOSITION Leader Mia Mottley is saying that the South Coast sewage crisis if offending Barbadians in a deep way.
She made the comment during a press conference yesterday, where she also stated that there is nothing more offensive than the smell or sight of raw sewage.
On that note, Mottley warned that the crisis has the potential harm to the island’s tourism product, noting that it is not just the South Coast being affected, but rather the entire island.
“The picture of sewage going into the sea raw and discolouring what is lovely blue aquamarine sea is offensive to the extreme . . .
“The real problem comes in its offence to public health, because life comes above all else. Two, [it is offensive] to our economy, because without cash we can’t live. To those circumstances, we say that this is now a matter of a national crisis,” she said during the press conference held at the Opposition Office in Parliament.
Calling on Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Freundel Stuart to step in and lead the way in taking charge of the situation, Mottley reminded that she was once in a position of having to manage a crisis.
She recalled that she had to make critical decisions when the fire took place at the Station Hill, St Michael Glendairy Prison, including calling on the Regional Security System (RSS) for help, though many opposed that decision at that time.
“My role therefore is to ensure that what we do to stabilise this country is done urgently, taking into account all of the stakeholders that are being affected, protecting the country’s reputation nationally, protecting its tourism brand, protecting the health of the people, and ensuring that we build for the future,” she said. (AH)